One Piece: Berserker Pirates Redux!
by MastaRasta
Summary: A boy with ambitious dreams and destructive powers has a vendetta against the entire world and those that rule over it. His immense determination and willpower to see these organizations destroyed is one to be feared. Now free from the shackles that once bound him to a life of pain and misery, the boy sets sail with his crew to achieve true freedom and vengeance. (Accepting Oc's).
1. The Melancholy of Slaves!

**A/N: Hello everyone currently reading this. The name's MastaRasta. After much thought for the past two years, I have decided to delete and completely rewrite the story of the Berserker Pirates. I am a bit ashamed to admit that I have lost interest in the direction of how the old version was going and I just did not want to force myself to continue writing something that I felt wasn't interesting anymore. So here is the first chapter of the whole new story. Now then, I will be accepting OC's from those gracious enough to allow me to use their characters in order for me to make this new story much more interesting. Credit will be given to the owners of the OC's at the end of the chapter upon the use of said characters. The character sheets will be left at the bottom of this chapter. So with nothing else left to say, let's start off the new story!**

* * *

 **The Melancholy of Slaves!**

* * *

It was a cold, windy night in middle of the ocean located in the West Blue. The light from the full moon illuminated the lonely marine battleship sailing across the unusual calm waters of the ocean. Aboard the ship were dozens of marines patrolling the deck with their swords and rifles in hand. The marines were very anxious and on edge. Sailing through the waters in the West Blue was very dangerous for those who were unprepared for its nearly unpredictable weather changes and sailing at night wasn't making them feel any better. But regardless of how they felt, they had a mission to accomplish. And concerning the special "cargo" that was currently being transported on the ship, the marines couldn't afford to let their guards down for a second.

Aboard the battleship were members of the infamously known World Nobles, descendants of the twenty kings who established what is known as the World Government. The marines have been on high alert throughout their entire voyage once they learned that they would be escorting such influential people on their ship to the island of their choice. They had heard hundreds of horrible stories about the heinous crimes that the World Nobles had committed throughout the years. But because of their massive influence within the World Government, their crimes have been ignored. Should any of the marines make a single mistake and accidentally upset the World Nobles, there was no doubt in their mind that their lives would be over.

So in order to make sure that the voyage to the island was satisfactory to the World Nobles, they catered to their every command and whim. Thankfully it was nothing too outrageous…for now at least. So far they had only needed to prepare them food and beverages and serve it to them. Other than that the World Nobles had been spending most of their time with the Vice-Admiral or in the brig. While it seemed odd for World Nobles to spend time in the brig with the other prisoners, the marines did not think much into situation, wanting to avoid causing any commotions that could result in their deaths.

"I can't take this anymore." A marine soldier nervously spoke out, breaking the dreadful silence that had befallen the battleship for the past few hours. "This fear…this tension…it's far too much for me to bear. For the past month that we've been sailing towards their designated location, everyone has been walking on eggshells."

"Can you really blame us? We're escorting World Nobles. This is a big deal." Another marine soldier reminded his comrade.

"Should we successfully accomplish our mission; we could gain the attention of the other World Nobles. Perhaps we could gain their favor enough for them to make us World Nobles as well." Another marine jokingly suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood around the ship. Fortunately, it had worked since the other marines around the deck began to lightly laugh in response to his joke.

"Yeah right! As if lowly commoners like us would ever be invited to become World Nobles." Another marine outright dismissed the idea. People like them had no chance in hell to ever reach such a prestigious title like a World Noble. It was certainly something that you needed to be born into. Trying to become one through any other means was nothing more than a fools dream.

It wasn't as if any of the marines aboard the ship wished to become World Nobles anyway. None of them liked them in the first place. They despised their arrogant and snobbish attitudes, as well as their god complexes. However, they couldn't help but feel jealous about how luxurious they lived. The marines also wished to live lavishly in a mansion with endless supplies of food, servants, and entertainment. Unfortunately, their daydreams were interrupted once they heard a metallic sound collide against the wooden deck from behind them.

After being alerted by the strange noise, the marines turned around and aimed their respective weapons towards the source, all too ready to face any threat that would dare approach them. Fortunately for them, there was no danger. Or at least immediate danger. The source of the noise turned out to be their superior officer, the one responsible for leading the entire battleship, Vice-Admiral Gabriel Matthews. The Vice-Admiral is a tall, imposing man with a broad chest and muscular build. He is currently wearing a white, double breasted suit with a blue shirt underneath and a white tie worn over it. Draped over his shoulders is the standard marine coat with the word "Justice" imprinted on the back.

All of the marines immediately stood at attention and saluted their superior officer. "Sir! What can we do for you, Vice-Admiral Gabriel, sir?!"

"I came out here to check and see what was causing all of the commotion out here. I was having a conversation with Sir Flameheart until I suddenly heard laughter." All of the marines' faces turned pale after hearing the Vice-Admiral's words. It was then that their bodies began to tremble tremendously. Their worst fears were soon to be realized. They had indirectly interrupted the conversation between their superior officer and a World Noble. The punishment that they were sure to receive was certainly going to be life ending. Some of the marines even went as far as to contemplate committing suicide right then and there to spare themselves.

Noticing the expressions on the faces of his subordinates, Gabriel raised his hand and continued to speak. "You can all calm down, you're not in any trouble or anything like that. It's fine to let loose every once in a while. However, remember to remain vigilante, especially at night. We still have about another day until we reach our destination." He reminded them.

All of the built up stress and tension within the bodies of the marines immediately left them after hearing that they were not in trouble. They nodded their heads and saluted Gabriel in understanding of his orders.

"Well then, I'm going to head back to my quarters. Alert me immediately if anything happens." The Vice-Admiral left his subordinates and returned to his room. In there waiting for him was one of the World Nobles, Sir Charles Flameheart. He is a man in his late forties with black hair combed upward with a distinct curl on top. He is wearing an oxygen tank attached to the bubble around his head, and white robes that resemble a spacesuit.

"What took you so long, Vice-Admiral?" Charles looked to Gabriel with an annoyed expression. It had not been long since the Vice-Admiral had left to speak with his subordinates, but for some reason the World Noble looked like he had been waiting for hours. Gabriel wished to be the one showing the annoyed expression, but of course he could not be so rude as to do so. Especially since he was the one that had offered to accept this mission from headquarters anyway.

"Forgive me for my tardiness, Sir Flameheart. I needed to reprimand my subordinates for interrupting our previous conversation with their much unneeded laughter." Gabriel lied through his teeth and lowered his head to the World Noble. Doing such a thing was a simple matter for him considering he had been lowering his head and unnecessarily apologizing to the World Noble for the past few weeks throughout their voyage.

Charles immediately seemed to buy the excuse and simply nodded his head without saying another word. Gabriel raised his head and then proceeded to return to his seat.

"Shall we continue where we left off?"

"Very well." Charles nodded his head before leaning forward in his chair. "As I mentioned earlier, this is by no means an ordinary voyage. I would not come so far out from the Holy Land without a clear purpose or goal in mind."

"I figured as much, Sir Flameheart. I have been curious as to what your reasons for coming out here were for." Gabriel admitted. For weeks he had nonchalantly attempting to pry information from the World Nobles and their bodyguards, unfortunately his tactics were ineffective as they proved to be more tight lipped than he had expected.

"This information is highly classified. I cannot just go around talking about it with everyone, especially when your useless subordinates are around. No doubt they would go about blabbering to anyone that would listen to them, thus ruining my plans." Charles mentioned, unintentionally angering the Vice-Admiral in the process. Gabriel did not appreciate it when people badmouthed his subordinates. It did not matter who they were. Unfortunately, because of the social statues between the two of them being so far apart, there was no way for him to outwardly express his anger.

"I agree. I will see to it that I will find more suiting subordinates." It dealt a great blow to his pride to forcibly agree with the World Noble. Certainly Gabriel did not agree with Charles. He believed that his subordinates were the best of the best.

"Do not bother, it will take ages for you to find perfect subordinates. We do not have much time anyway. It will begin soon and we cannot afford to miss out on this opportunity." A sinister smile appeared across the face of the World Noble. One could mistake it for the smile of the devil. Feelings of regret immediately surfaced within the Vice-Admiral after seeing the smile. He had no idea as to what the World Noble had in store for him or his subordinates once they reached their designated island.

"If you do not mind me asking…what will be starting soon?" Gabriel inquired, having had more than enough of the suspense.

"There is an island within the West Blue which is notorious for its entertaining coliseum matches and awe aspiring prizes. I have gained word from my informants that a specific item that I have been searching for has suddenly surfaced." Charles made sure to keep his answer vague, especially when it concerned the "special item". Gabriel's curiosity had certainly been piqued. He wished to know more. If a World Noble was more than willing to leave the safety of the Holy Land to venture out for such an item, it had to be of great importance. This worried the Vice-Admiral even more.

"So, do you wish for me to participate in the coliseum matches and win the special item for you then?" Gabriel asked.

"Oh no, that will not be necessary." Charles shook his head, dismissing the thought of Gabriel being the one to retrieve the item all together. "I have already brought along two slaves of mine that will be participating in the coliseum. One of them will be the ones to retrieve the special item for me."

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows after hearing the mention of the two slaves that Charles had brought along for the voyage. It was common for World Nobles to bring along slaves wherever they went, however, seeing them doing it up close left a bad taste in Gabriel's mouth. He personally watched the World Nobles treat them as if they were garbage. No. Treating them like garbage would actually be a compliment. They were treated as if they were even less than garbage.

To be honest the two slaves would have starved to death if Gabriel had not sneaked his way within the brig every night to feed them just enough food to keep them conscious. Of course before doing so, the Vice-Admiral did a background check on the two of them. If the slaves had turned out to be criminals, then he would not have felt bad in the slightest about how they were being treated. But the slaves were not criminals. They had no record anywhere. It pained him greatly to even think about where those two must have been captured to unfortunately become slaves to the World Nobles.

"You appear to have much confidence in their strength." Gabriel pointed out.

"I would not call it confidence." Charles snobbishly retorted. "Should you somehow confront the two of them in a fight, I assure you that you could easily incapacitate them."

"I see…so why have you chosen them to participate in this coliseum? I understand that you wish to retrieve the special item. But why choose your slaves to participate if you are not confident in their strength? Wouldn't your bodyguards be a better choice?"

"Indeed they would. However, I am doing this as a favor for my daughter. She so strongly believes that those two slaves of mine would be better choices for this coliseum." Charles responded dryly. "As I recall, she said that wasting the talents of my bodyguards inside of a coliseum of commoners was disrespectful to them. I entirely agree with her. Coliseum fights should be for the slaves and commoners."

The World Noble reclined in his chair and propped his chin against his hand, his arrogant and condescending expression never leaving his face.

"Also, should my slaves refuse to complete such a simple task of acquiring this special item of mine, then only the cruel fate that awaits them is death. I will not grant them the mercy of dying quickly."

"Ah…" Gabriel avoided making eye contact with the World Noble any further. He did not wish to gaze into the eyes of the devil sitting before him. He did not wish to be entranced or influenced by the wickedness exerting from the World Nobles body.

"Speaking of my slaves, perhaps you should go and check on them. If no one keeps an eye on them every once in a while, they begin to have ideas of escaping." Charles' arrogant expression momentarily disappeared as he looked off from Gabriel. It was as if he was reminiscing about past events concerning his slaves.

"Right away, Sir Flameheart." Gabriel was all too eager to leave the room. He left as fast as he could and heaved a sigh of relief as he ventured across the deck towards the brig. He ignored his subordinates that were diligently patrolling around the ship and he entered into the cold, dark brig alone.

Immediately upon his entry, dozens of prisoners were held in their respective cells with sea-stone shackles clasped to their ankles and wrists. It was relatively quiet inside of the holding cells besides the sounds of rattling chains and squeaking from the mice inside of the brig. All of the prisoners there were practically lifeless. All of them had been captured by the marines and they were moments away from being sent to prison for the rest of their lives. That was until a few weeks ago when Charles Flameheart appeared and decided to select them as his new slaves. Most of them had given up hope and allowed their feelings of despair to overwhelm them. Becoming a slave to the World Nobles was certainly worse than prison…perhaps death even.

But Gabriel felt nothing for the criminals within the holding cell. If they did not wish to receive such a cruel fate, then they should have made better choices in their lives. The Vice-Admiral flipped on the light switch and waited for the groans of the prisoners to die down before he proceeded to walk down further into the brig. He eventually reached the end of the brig and he stared blankly at the pair of feet sticking out from shadows of the cell. They looked rough and dirty. They were covered in bruises.

Gabriel lightly kicked the bars of the cell in order to alert the person inside. A moment of silence passed and there was no proper response. He kicked it a second time and he then received a response in the form of an exhausted groan. The pair of feet within the cell began to twitch, the rattling sound of the person's chains caused the Vice-Admiral to furrow his eyebrows.

"Is it feeding time already? What kind of delicious meal have you brought for me this time, Vice-Admiral?" The person within the cell inquired, followed up by the sound of him licking his lips at the thought of being fed.

"I haven't brought you any food." Gabriel flatly responded.

"Then what was the point of you coming in here?" The slave harshly retorted. He started flailing around his arms and legs, the constant rattling of his shackles began to annoy the marine. In order to get the slave to stop, he once again kicked the bars with his metallic foot.

"Quiet down!" He ordered.

"Ah, I'm sorry…" The slave sarcastically apologized as he ceased his childlike tantrum. "So why have you blessed me with your presence today?"

"I was ordered to check up on you by Sir Flameheart. He told me to check on you regularly or else you'll come up with ideas on how to escape." Gabriel answered.

A light chuckle escaped from the mouth of the slave before he reached up to his neck to fiddle with the explosive collar that had been placed there. "Escape? Now how could I possibly do that when I have this collar around my neck? I try to go anywhere and then kaboom!" He enthusiastically imitated the sound of an explosion.

"As enthusiastic as usual I see." Gabriel shook his head at the sight. He could not understand if the slave had become insane after having been a slave for so many years, or if the man simply enjoyed his situation.

"Of course I'm enthusiastic. Wouldn't you be enthusiastic if the day of your escape was soon at hand?" The slave inquired.

"Escape? How do you plan on escaping?" Gabriel was honestly interested on how the slave planned to escape. It was as he mentioned earlier, as long as he has the explosive collar on his neck, he cannot afford to go anywhere unless he wished his head to be blown off of his shoulders.

"Now why would I have to go about telling you that?" The slave answered with a question of his own. "If I were stupid enough to tell you that, you would no doubt snitch to the World Noble about my plan."

Gabriel could only nod his head in response to that. Should he somehow manage to find out about the slaves plan to escape, it would be his duty to inform Charles Flameheart. He did feel bad about having to snitch on a bunch of slaves, but they were property to the World Nobles. Punishment for assisting in the escape of slaves was a huge offense.

"However, considering how I was captured and became a slave in the first place, I assume that my plan will not work out as well as I hope that it will." The slave nonchalantly spoke.

"Most likely." Gabriel reluctantly agreed with the slave.

"Unless of course…" The slave sat up from the hard, wooden floor and finally entered into the light. The slave is a young male with lightly tanned skin, black spiky hair, and onyx colored eyes. Despite his status as a slave, his body is rather lean and muscular. There are noticeable scars across his arms, forehead, and a vertical scar on the left side of his lips. His clothes can be considered nothing but rags. They are heavily torn and tattered and appear to not have been washed in weeks, perhaps even months. "You wish to free me out of the kindness of your own heart."

"I can't do that. Forgive me." Gabriel outright refused the suggestion. Deep down in his heart he wished to free all of the innocent people that had been turned into slaves. But the repercussions of his actions would definitely ruin his life, including the lives of his subordinates.

The slave stared blankly at the Vice-Admiral for a moment before he returned to his lying down position, heaving a sigh of annoyance before speaking. "No need to feel so depressed, Vice-Admiral. I know how influential the World Nobles. Choosing to free me would be a very bad decision for you."

"Glad to see that you understand things from my point of you." Gabriel said.

"Oh yes…I understand…" The slave's hand appeared out from the shadows and it gripped onto the wooden floor. "However, it doesn't change the fact that I am pissed." The slave increased the pressure on the floor and easily cracked the wooden planks. His once cheerful and nonchalant tone had long disappeared. The slave's hatred and malice towards his situation could be felt by the Vice-Admiral and the other prisoners within the brig.

"I clearly understand how things are from your point of view. You must be terrified of what the World Nobles would do to you if you were to allow us to escape from their clutches. The consequences of angering them would break the will of any ordinary person." The slave continued to speak while Gabriel silently listened.

"I can picture it now. You would be stripped of your rank as a marine and you would be branded as a slave. And I do mean literally branded. They would grab a hot piece of iron and press it against your skin until you've been marked by the 'Hoof of the Dragon'. Your screams and cries of pain and anguish would fall on deaf ears as the other World Nobles would simply point and laugh at the expense of your pain and misery. Then they would place an explosive collar around your neck and force you to do anything that they pleased."

"Don't forget to mention that your subordinates would be included with you. Hell, there's a chance that even the family of your subordinates would become slaves as well. Would you be able to bear that guilt? Dragging your subordinates and their families down to hell with you? All to save the life a one poor, unfortunate soul?"

The slave leaned up again and expressed a sinister expression that unnerved the Vice-Admiral. Nonetheless the marine remained silent and allowed the boy before him to continue speaking his mind.

"Of course you wouldn't. After all, it goes against your "justice". Us mere slaves are the property of the World Nobles, which you all so reluctantly serve. Should we somehow escape from our owners, no doubt you would chase us down to the ends of the earth to return us to where we truly belong." The slave dramatically placed his hands over his heart. "Because after all, sacrificing the lives of the people that you are meant to protect is far easier than suffering through the wrath of the World Nobles yourselves…am I right, Vice-Admiral?"

Gabriel was at a loss for words. Everything that the slave before him had mentioned was absolutely true. It pained him greatly to agree with the young man's words. Sensing that the will of the marine was wavering, the slave continued to take a shot at him.

"If you ask me, there needs to be a new world order. Something must be done to remove those piles of garbage from their thrones at the Holy Land. And since none of you "allies of justice" are willing to do anything about it. That only leaves me with only one option." The slave looked up to the ceiling and proudly proclaimed, "On the day that I escape from the clutches of the World Nobles! I, Raymond Everett, will become a major threat to the World Nobles! I will gather hundreds…no, thousands…no, millions of subordinates and wage war against the World Nobles! I will personally see to it that every last one of them are eradicated and removed from the Holy Land before I burn it down to the ground!"

Gabriel, along with all of the other prisoners within the brig, exclaimed in disbelief after hearing the young male's sudden and outrageous proclamation. Announcing that you would one day become a major threat to the World Nobles was indeed a serious offence which could be punishable by death. And besides, in order to get to the World Nobles, you would have to get through the marines, which were a sea force created from the World Government, which enforces the law throughout the entire world. It would be impossible to take down all of those organizations in order to get to the World Nobles. But despite knowing that, Gabriel couldn't help but feel anxious and frightened for the future of the world should this person ever escape.

No longer wishing for Raymond to control the flow of the conversation, Gabriel loudly cleared his throat and spoke up. "You will not escape from the World Nobles. They have the highest of security along with them. They have personally brought along members of the Valentine Family."

"Oh…the Valentine Family? I'm well aware of them." Raymond lied down once again and made himself somewhat comfortable. "They're a group of nobles that have faithfully served the Cornwall Family even before the creation of the World Government. Because of their loyal service, they have been allowed to remain at the Holy Land with the other World Nobles. I hear that they've grown in numbers lately and they've also expanded their protective services to the other World Nobles."

"Indeed. Since you seem to know so much about them, you must also be aware of how powerful they are." Gabriel narrowed his eyes as he carefully gauged the reaction of the slave.

"Oh yes I do. I wouldn't want to face any member of that particular family without a clear and concise plan." Raymond nodded his head in agreement. "Luckily my escape plan doesn't involve fighting any of them. So I am in the clear."

"You sound so confident. Have you forgotten about the explosive collar around your neck?" Gabriel felt the need to remind him as a desperate attempt to exert whatever little amount of dominance that he had left.

"I will never forget about it." Raymond's cheerful tone of voice had disappeared once again and it was replaced with a monotone. "But I will not let this thing inconvenience me any longer. Tomorrow is the day that I will escape. I can feel it. No…I swear it."

"I will not allow it." Gabriel proclaimed. Despite Raymond's face being concealed by the shadows in the cell, the Vice-Admiral could feel the young slave's glare. "I will admit that most of what you said is true. And regrettably the marines and the World Nobles are not the best of people. However, it does not change the fact that there is balance in the world because of these organizations. I cannot allow you to escape since you plan on destroying these organizations. My justice will not allow it."

"Your justice?!" Raymond angrily exclaimed, constantly rattling his chains as if he were trying to escape. "I don't want to hear any of your justice bullshit! What kind of justice allows such monstrosity to pull the strings of the World Government as if they were gods? To be honest, even pirates and criminals seem far more humane when compared to the World Nobles! At least they're honest about what they are and what they represent! Unlike the damn hypocrites at the Holy Land, the World Government, and especially the marines!"

Raymond angrily exhaled and inhaled for a couple of moments in an attempt to regain the composure that he had momentarily lost.

"But no matter…I swear that it will all come to an end soon enough. Try your best to stop me, Vice-Admiral. The future of the entire world rests in your hands...at the moment that is." Raymond chuckled. Having had enough of speaking with him, Gabriel quickly left the brig and shut off the lights, leaving all of the prisoners in the darkness once more. In order to celebrate his "victory" over the Vice-Admiral, Raymond proceeded to whistle a happy tune.

However, he soon stopped once he heard a familiar growl coming from the prison cell across from his. Although he could not see the one behind the source of the sound, he nonetheless sat up and called out to the person.

"Hey, did you like my little speech there? I've been holding that one in for quite some time now." Raymond sheepishly mentioned. A moment of silence went by and there was no response from the person. "Tomorrow is the day you know. I will escape from their clutches once and for all. I would love it if you joined me."

Ray blinked a few times as another moment of awkward silence passed.

"Still not going to talk to me are you? Still need me to convince you that I will escape? Well make sure to keep a close eye on me tomorrow. I look forward to seeing the look on your face once you see me make my grandiose escape." Raymond closed his eyes and lied down once again, soon falling asleep, dreaming about his long awaited day of becoming free from his owners.

* * *

 **And that was the end of the first chapter to this new story. I hope everyone enjoyed it. As promised the character fill out sheet is right down below.**

 **Name-**

 **Epithet-**

 **Gender-**

 **Age-**

 **Affiliations-(Bounty Hunter, Marine, Pirate, Revolutionary, etc.)**

 **Rank-(Pirate Captain, Marine Captain, etc.)**

 **Justice (If marine)-(What type of justice does your character, if marine, believe in? Absolute Justice? Lazy Justice? Unclear Justice?)**

 **Race-(Human, Fishman, Hybrid animal, etc.)**

 **Bounty (If criminal)-**

 **Appearance-(Please be as descriptive as possible)-**

 **Personality-(Please be as descriptive as possible)-**

 **Power/Abilities/Weapon of Choice-(Martial Arts, Gunslinger, Sword master, Devil Fruit, etc.)**

 **Devil Fruit Name and Powers (If any)-**

 **Devil Fruit Strengths-**

 **Devil Fruit Weaknesses-**

 **Skills-(What does your character excel at? Navigating? Sniping? Cooking? Fighting?)**

 **History-(It doesn't need to be excessively long, but don't make it extremely short either. I do enjoy a good read.)**

 **Dream/Goal-(Pirate King, Fleet Admiral, Revolutionary Leader, etc.)**

* * *

 **Also, here are the positions for the Berserker Pirates. Obviously the spots not taken are open for grabs.**

 **Captain-Taken by me :D**

 **First Mate-Taken by me also :D**

 **Second Mate-?**

 **Navigator-?**

 **Doctor-?**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-?**

 **Swordsman-?**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-?**

 **Marksman-?**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-?**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-?**

 **Assassin-?**

 **Underworld Broker-?**


	2. The Plan Set In Motion!

**A/N: So first off I would like to thank those that have read, reviewed, and or submitted characters for this story. I really appreciate it. I know this story will only continue to get more interesting once those characters appear. I think that's all I wanted to say for now, so please enjoy the story and don't forget to leave a review. :D**

* * *

 **The Plan Set In Motion!**

* * *

Raymond Everett, one of the slaves to the World Noble Sir Charles Flameheart, was sleeping soundly in his prison cell within the brig. Despite being forced to sleep on the cold, hard wooden floor, the young man found some way to make himself comfortable. His loud and dreadful snores irritated the other inhabitants of the brig. Some of the prisoners covered their ears with their hands to block out the noise while others simply endured through it, knowing by now that there was nothing that they could do to stop the infuriating snoring. Fortunately, salvation soon came in the sound of multiple footsteps running across the deck of the ship. Traces of sawdust fell from the ceiling and landed directly in the slave's mouth. The horrendous taste of the sawdust woke him up almost immediately.

Laughter soon erupted around the brig once they heard the person responsible for their hours of torture frantically coughing, desperately trying to clear his throat of the potentially harmful substances. Their laughter however soon ceased the moment the door to the brig opened, allowing the bright rays of the sun to enter. The prisoners groaned and turned their heads away from the light since their eyes had not yet adjusted. Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Gabriel, followed behind a couple of his subordinates, entered the brig and stopped in front of Raymond's cell. They remained silent and watched in confusion as the slave continued to suffer through his coughing fit. He eventually finished and looked to the marines before him, engaging them in a brief stare down as an awkward silence filled the room.

Gabriel cleared his throat to end the awkward silence and spoke. "We have arrived at our destination." He announced. The Vice-Admiral couldn't help but feel irked once a confident grin appeared on the face of Raymond. That expression made him remember the conversation that they had last night. About how Raymond was going to miraculously escape from the clutches of the World Nobles and then proceed to become a huge threat to them later on in the future.

Obviously Gabriel had informed Charles about the discussion, but the World Noble did not seem to be concerned about it whatsoever. In fact, he simply laughed it off and dismissed it as another one of his slave's foolish proclamations. Since the World Noble seemed disinterested in the notion, Gabriel felt like he should ignore it as well. If only it were that easy for him though. He didn't mention it to anyone, but he had a nightmare last night. It featured him standing in some god forsaken wasteland as he watched in horror as the World Government, World Nobles, and the Marines were all burnt down and destroyed by the hands of that one slave. The sight of that alone was more than enough to force the Vice-Admiral into waking up early in a cold sweat. Should anyone learn of that experience, he would forever feel ashamed.

But then again no one would know of that shameful experience. It was nothing more than a dream. None of those things he saw in that dream would ever become a reality. Those were the things that Gabriel constantly repeated to himself in order to regain his composure. He refused to allow some slave to play mind games with him, let alone win.

"Today's the big day. I can feel it." Raymond spoke confidently. His body began to tremble in sheer excitement as the Vice-Admiral unlocked the cell and entered. There was once again another exchange of stares before the marine removed the chains from the slave, allowing him to no longer be restricted within the confides of the cell.

"You're not going to escape. I will see to it that it doesn't happen." Gabriel gestured for his subordinates to grab a hold of Raymond. Once that was done, he turned and headed out towards the deck of the ship with his subordinates dragging Raymond along. Despite being dragged, Raymond looked over his shoulder with a puzzled expression, pondering as to why he was the only slave being carried out from his cell at the moment.

He was so busy focusing on his own thoughts that he had failed to realize that he had already been brought outside before the World Nobles. Standing in the middle was Saint Charles Flameheart. To his left was his daughter, Saint Charlotte Flameheart. She is a noticeably beautiful young woman, which at first shocked Raymond since a majority of the World Nobles he had encountered had been terrifyingly hideous. Her hair is blue and it stops just about to her jawline. Her eyes are a peculiar shade of purple, which often entranced him for some odd reason. In spite of the major differences in appearance to her father, the one thing that the two of them shared were the spacesuit like robes and bubbles worn over their heads.

And to the right was the third and final World Noble being escorted on the ship, Saint Damien Cornwall. Also unlike other World Nobles, Damien's appearance was alright, at least from Raymond's perspective. However, if it were from a female's perspective, then his appearance could be described as incredibly handsome. He has short dark hair which he keeps slicked back. He has a condition known as heterochromia iridum, resulting in his eye colors being different. His right eye is green while his left eye is blue. Also like the other two World Nobles, he shares the common attire.

These three World Nobles had the same, pompous, condescending expressions on their face, it disgusted him. They looked at Raymond like he was lower than garbage. In an effort to demonstrate their superiority over him, they demanded that the marines force the slave down onto his knees. And that they did, but it didn't stop there. Charles stepped forward and placed his foot on top of Raymond's head, forcing it down against the wooden floor of the deck. Some of the marines aboard the ship averted their eyes away from the unsightly scene.

"I'm certain that you know as to why I am doing this." Charles sneered at the slave under his foot. "Vice-Admiral Gabriel informed me about your plan to escape from me and then destroy the Holy Land in the future. How brazen of you to make such a daring declaration whenever I am not around to keep you in check."

"Slaves tend to make such outrageous comments whenever their masters are not around to hear it. They are nothing more than cowards." Damien spoke in a matter of fact kind of tone.

Charlotte nodded her head in agreement with the previous statement before speaking up herself to add her own input. "Should any slaves of mine dare speak such blasphemous words regardless if I am there or not, I would put them down immediately."

"There is no need to do that…at least not yet anyway." Charles increased the pressure applied onto the back of Raymond's head. The young slave gritted his teeth and suppressed his killing intent. Now was not the time to exact his revenge yet. "Listen slave, your words have insulted me, my daughter, and my future son in law. Usually I would burn you at the stake for uttering such blasphemous words, but I have decided to spare you of such punishment."

 _"Oh, how kind of you." Raymond inwardly seethed as he continued to suppress his rage while his face was still pressing against the wooden floor._

"If you do not wish to be punished for your actions, then you had best listen up." Said Charles as he finally removed his foot from the slave's head. He then turned his back to him and looked towards the direction of the large coliseum set directly in the center of the island. "In exactly two hours from now there will be a series of matches held within that coliseum. The winner of the matches will be awarded with a special prize. Should you manage to win and achieve that prize, I will forgive you for your actions and spare your worthless life."

"That is my father for you." Charlotte chimed in, applauding her father alongside Damien.

"So merciful, even towards those that do not even deserve it. You should be grateful that he is giving you the chance to continue living as his slave." Damien sneered at Raymond.

"I am forever grateful for the kindness that you have shown me today, Master." Raymond lied through his teeth and kept his head down, hiding his expression of resentment from them. Nothing would satisfy him more than the attack the three World Nobles right now in front of all of the marines to demonstrate his superiority over them. But once again he restrained himself. It was not the time yet.

"It always brings me great joy when the filthy worms learn their place in the world." mused Charles to no one in particular as he continued to look off in the distance, daydreaming about one of his slaves winning the special prize for him. He was completely convinced that Raymond's words were sincere.

But Gabriel and his subordinates on the other hand were not so convinced. Although it may have sounded like Raymond had submitted to the will of the World Noble, they were aware of the animosity that the young slave held for them. Had they not been there to protect them, they were certain the World Nobles would be mercilessly slaughtered.

"Father, I believe that it is time for us to disembark for the coliseum." Charlotte announced, snapping the older World Noble out of his pleasant daydream.

"Oh yes, you are correct. We cannot afford to waste time any longer. Let us be off." Charles snapped his fingers, resulting in the marines bringing forth three large, comfortable chairs for the World Nobles to sit in. Once seated, the marines grabbed a hold of the chairs and hoisted them up into the air before disembarking from the marine ship.

"Sir Charles, what should we do about the other slave that you wished to have participate in the coliseum?" Gabriel inquired.

"Oh right…that one…" Charles looked off with a perplexed expression. After giving it some thought, the World Noble shrugged his shoulders and ordered for them to bring him along as well. Some of the marines nodding their heads in understanding before returning to the brig. A small smirk appeared on Raymond's face after hearing the mention of the other slave participating in the coliseum matches along with him.

"Father, it appears that the members of the Valentine Family have come to greet us." Charlotte pointed ahead once the marines set foot onto the island. Charles' face appeared to brighten up upon hearing his daughter's words. Damien on the other hand seemed alarmed. His face went pale and bullets of sweat streamed down his face as the view of the two people sent to bodyguard them become clearer as they drew closer. One was male, the other was female.

The male appeared to be quite young and relatively tall. He has shaggy blonde hair that drops down over his eyes. He is currently wearing a white cap with his family's crest imprinted on the front, a black coat worn over a gold colored dress shirt, black pants, and dress shoes.

The female appeared to be quite young as well, however she was shorter than the male. Her hair is blonde and it drops down to her shoulders which she keeps the left side parted behind her ear, revealing a blue earring there. She is wearing an exotic white top with gold trimmings and a gold shallow cut undershirt with her family crest featured on the front. She is also wearing white pants with gold chaps and a sash tied around her waist.

Raymond furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of the two Valentine Family members awaiting ahead for the group to arrive. He knew exactly who the two of them were. The male was Hayes Valentine "The Ebullient", while the female was Helena Valentine "The Eccentric". Both of them were elite officers of the family, demonstrated by the impressive swords being held securely to their respective waists. It was a custom and tradition for those whom became an elite officer in the Valentine Family to have their own custom-made swords crafted by some of the best blacksmiths in the world. Their swords belonged to the Ryo Wazamano Grade. It was a clear testament to the superiority that they had over the lower ranked members of the family. The appearance of these two would certainly be a hindrance to Raymond's plans of escaping. He already knew that members of the Valentine Family would be here to protect the World Nobles, but he was not expecting elite officers to show up. Nonetheless he concealed his discouragement.

"Saint Charles Flameheart, Saint Charlotte Flameheart, and Saint Damien Cornwall." Hayes stepped forward to greet the World Nobles with a polite bow of his head. "I would like to personally welcome you to Grandioso Spettacolo."

Pleased with the welcome he received from the young man, Charles nodded his head and spoke. "If I remember correctly, you are Hayes and Helena Valentine. I see that the head of your family paid no expense in sending some of his best officers to come guard us."

"Guarding the World Nobles is the reason we exist, Sir Flameheart. We would do anything to ensure your safety." In spite of saying such generous words, Helena's gaze was fixated only on Damien.

It may only have been Raymond's imagination, but he thought he could see Helena's eyes morph into hearts. He rubbed his eyes a few times and checked on her condition again. Yup. They were still hearts. He took a quick glance to the see the expressions of everyone else to check if he was the only one witnessing this strange phenomenon. No one else seemed to notice her condition, or rather they pretended not to notice. Either way, he remained silent and allowed them to continue conversing with each other.

"With you here I feel even safer. Although I doubt that the commoners on this island would dare do anything to harm us." Charles arrogantly assumed.

It took almost everything Raymond had not to laugh after hearing such a hypocritical statement. If the World Noble truly doubted that anyone wouldn't dare attempt to harm them, then what would be the point in bringing in the marines or members of the Valentine Family? The answer was clear as day. They were frightened. The Holy Land was their homeland. It was their comfort zone. Whenever they leave the Holy Land for whatever reason, it was rare to see them without at least a dozen guards around.

"We made sure to alert the commoners of your arrival beforehand, Sir Flameheart. They have cleaned the streets and paved a clear path for you whenever you desire to head towards the coliseum." Hayes informed the group.

"Excellent. We are heading that way now. Come along." Charles clapped his hands together and then the group ventured forth toward the coliseum. Out of curtesy to the World Nobles, Hayes and Helena stood aside and allowed them to move ahead before following close behind. Or Hayes was. Helena on the other hand remained close to Damien, hearts appeared to floating around her, much to the discontent of the World Noble.

Through their walk towards the coliseum, the people of the island silently knelt down and bowed their heads in respect to the World Nobles. Or at least that's how the World Nobles saw it. From Raymond's perspective, they were doing it out of fear. It was universal knowledge not to do anything that would upset the World Nobles. Fortunately, the people of the island proved smart enough to do just that. No one dared to look up and make eye contact with the World Nobles. No one dared to speak out when they heard the World Nobles openly criticize them on their appearances and social status.

Raymond stole quick glances towards the kneeling civilians. Despite his situation as a slave, he pitied these people. Having to lower themselves to the likes of garbage like the World Nobles. This incident only fueled his desire to hurry up and escape so that no one in the world would every have to experience such humiliation ever again.

 _"That's right. Just keep your heads down and count your blessings that the World Nobles are ignoring your existences. It will all be over soon enough. That I swear it to you all." Raymond inwardly promised to the people of the island._

Eventually the group reached the coliseum located at the center of the island. The people there also quickly dropped to their knees and bowed their heads out of respect/fear of the World Nobles. Charles explained his reasoning's for making an appearance and made sure to sign Raymond and the other slave up for the matches. Since there was about another hour until the matches would start Raymond was sent to the waiting room with the other contestants, with supervision from Hayes, while the others went to their VIP seats.

It was rather crowded inside of the waiting room. Despite it being rather large, there were hundreds of people standing around chatting up a storm. The main topic of the room was of course the arrival of the World Nobles.

"Did you see them outside of the coliseum earlier? They were surrounded by dozens of marines."

"The blue haired one was incredibly beautiful. I wonder if she's single. Perhaps I could charm her and marry into the family to become a World Noble myself."

"Idiot! As if someone with a face as ugly as yours would ever be lucky enough to marry someone as beautiful as her!"

"Why do you think the World Nobles have come here? You don't think they have an interest in the special prize for tonight do you?"

"What other reason could there be?"

"I heard they signed up a couple of their slaves to participate in the matches for them."

"If the slaves of the World Nobles are defeated during the matches, what's going to happen to this island?"

Silence soon befell the room as all of the contestants thought about the future of the island. All of them were interested in winning the special prize for tonight's event. But they were left with a sense of foreboding concerning what would happen to them and everyone else on the island should they defeat the slaves belonging to the World Nobles.

"Perhaps we should drop out of the competition."

"You're right. The special prize isn't worth angering a World Noble."

"Bah! Screw those World Nobles!" A brave voice rang out through the room, alarming every one of the man's presence. "I'm not going to miss out on this chance to win the special prize simply because some World Nobles have their eyes on it! If they want it so bad, then they're going to have to get off their lazy asses and win it themselves!"

Some of the contestants within the waiting room expressed their agreement with the man's statement and applauded him. Others on the other hand weren't so ecstatic and hoped that the World Nobles would never learn about the incident. Raymond was one of the people applauding the man, although it was an involuntary action. Once he realized what he was doing, he immediately stopped clapping and looked to his supervisor, Hayes. To his surprise the blonde haired man did not express any open hostility towards anyone that were insulting the World Nobles right in front of him.

In fact, the man simply stood there and smiled. For someone meant to be the protector of the World Nobles, Raymond also figured that would include their honor. Usually anyone else belonging to the Valentine Family would strike down anyone that dared to speak ill of the World Nobles. But for some reason that man was different. There was no malice. No hostility. He was in fact quite tranquil.

His curiosity getting the best of him, Raymond hesitantly asked, "So don't you feel upset about hearing them badmouthing the people that you are meant to protect?"

"Not at all." Hayes sheepishly responded with a small chuckle. "Freedom of speech is always important. I am happy that some of these people can speak their minds without suffering any consequences."

"How…noble of you." Raymond looked at Hayes with a puzzled expression, having a hard time gauging the man's character. He figured that all nobles were all pieces of shit with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, although he may have been just a little biased. Don't misunderstand, he despises Hayes for the soul reason that he even associates himself with the World Nobles. But he found it difficult to express his hostility towards him. In fact, it was beginning to get awkward simply being around him at this point.

"You do not need to hold back as well. I am certain that you must have some grievances you want to get out. You know, with you being a slave and all. If you wish to join them in badmouthing the World Nobles, what happens in this room stays in this room." In defiance to his "noble" personality, Hayes was incredibly blunt. Raymond appreciated that he basically gave him permission to speak ill of his master, but he wasn't stupid enough to trust the man to keep his word.

"No thanks. I just want to concentrate on my match." Raymond politely refused Hayes' offer. He looked away from the man and returned his attention back to the other contestants in today's coliseum matches. Now a majority of them had banded together and began to badmouth the World Nobles. They continuously expressed great joy at the chance to screw over the World Nobles.

Just like them, he couldn't wait to have his chance to screw them over as well. He almost felt bad for the contestants since they would never have the chance to come close to winning the matches. Raymond was confident that he would be the winner. No one within the waiting room appeared to be strong enough to even give him a challenge. He didn't want to underestimate them. It wasn't exactly like he looked all that strong either in comparison considering that he was simply dressed in worn down, heavily torn rags. But none of them looked "hardened" by the experiences that Raymond had to go through.

None of them had the look of immense willpower or determination to come out as the winner in the matches. Raymond certainly had it. This was his last and final chance to break free from his shackles that bound him to his miserable and painful life as a slave to the heavenly demons known as the World Nobles. And he was going to make sure that he succeeded no matter what he had to do. But of course there was a problem that he had to deal with first. He needed a change of clothes.

Today was going to be a day of celebration. He needed to dress for the part. Dress for success. The rags that he was currently wearing just wouldn't properly fit for the occasion. Nope. They would not do.

While he was busy contemplating as to where he would acquire new clothes, something hit him. Or rather something bumped into him, knocking him down onto the floor. Laughter erupted within the waiting room as the other contestants pointed and laughed at the downed slave, showing no mercy towards him. Usually anyone else would be enraged, embarrassed, or humiliated by this. But Raymond was calm. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened to him. But he was damn sure that he was going to make it the last time.

He looked up and saw some brat, possibly a little younger than him, standing there looking down at him with a haughty expression on his face. The young male had flowing black hair that dropped down just below his shoulders and light blue eyes. He is currently sporting a ruffled, purple V-neck shirt and dark pants with a purple sash tied around his waist to hold his sword placed on his right hip. Although this may have been a part of Raymond's imagination, there were sparkles constantly flickering in and out around the young male's face.

"You there, slave! How dare you block my path and then have the audacity to look at me!" The young male snobbishly announced, making sure that everyone in the room could hear him. The room fell silent as everyone awaited to hear if Raymond would respond or not.

"I didn't block your path. You purposely came over here and bumped into me." Raymond pointed as he observed his surroundings. Since he didn't wish to cause any trouble until the start of the matches, he decided to remain in the far corner of the room where he wouldn't attract any attention to himself. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case this time since the asshole in front of him made an effort to start a scene.

The young male recoiled back in disgust after Raymond had responded to him. "Ugh, the slave now has the audacity to talk back to me without even apologizing for dirtying my clothes! Do you not have the slightest clue as to who I am?"

"Should I?" Raymond's eyebrows furrowed as he stood to his feet.

"I am a noble of this here island! Lehold Hollostein! Second son of the Hollostein Family!" Lehold arrogantly introduced himself. "And I am also the champion of this coliseum!"

Hearing that the man before him was the champion, Raymond's interest had been slightly piqued. He guessed that he couldn't judge a book by their cover. If Lehold truly was the champion, then he obviously had to be the strongest out of the entire group. And now that he got a better look at the noble, his clothes seemed to be just about his size. Sure it wasn't customary to take on the champion outside of the ring, but then again, what would a slave know about customs? Even if he was the strongest in the coliseum, he wasn't stronger than Raymond. At least that's what Raymond thought.

"And as the champion of the coliseum, I will be the one that will obtain the special prize for this event. You are one of the slaves the World Nobles signed to participate in the matches, right? You should go tell your masters that they wish to get the special prize from me, then they will have to make me into a World Noble." Said Lehold, firmly crossing his arms over his chest. His arrogant expression never leaving his face.

"You sound confident that you're going to win that special prize." Raymond pointed out.

"Of course I will. No one in this room can come close to matching my strength. When the matches take place, I will show off my superior skills to the World Nobles and win the special prize." Lehold boasted.

"And then you plan to use it as leverage to force the World Nobles into making you one of them? Is that about it?" Hayes cut his way into the conversation.

Lehold glanced over to Hayes and scowled fiercely. "That is correct. You are a member of the Valentine Family, correct? Do you have any idea as to how humiliating it is for the rest of us nobles to know that nobles like you are allowed to stay at the Holy Land? You are no different from the rest of us. What makes you so special?"

"Hmmm…" Hayes brought his hand up to his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face. He then smiled brightly after coming up with a proper conclusion. "Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my family only cares about protecting the World Nobles instead of trying to become one of them. Most other nobles are always so power hungry. Kind of like you."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Lehold was seething was rage. He brought his hand to the hilt of his sword in preparation to strike Hayes down at any moment.

"Of course not. You are the one that is trying to pick a fight since you purposely knocked down Saint Charles' slave." Hayes pointed out. "I understand that you are proud of your status as a noble, but you should value yourself a little more. Set a better example for other nobles to be."

"Are you seriously giving me a lecture right now? Do you want to die you piece of shi…" Lehold was abruptly interrupted once Raymond drove his foot into the poor, unsuspecting noble's stomach. His eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped before his legs buckled. He dropped down onto his knees and lost consciousness.

Everyone within the room, minus Raymond and Hayes, were all shocked to see the champion of the coliseum go down with a single strike. While he was unconscious, Raymond didn't hesitate to rob the man of his clothes. Once he was done changing, he tossed his old rags on top of Lehold so that no one would have to bear the humiliation of seeing their champion lying on the ground nearly naked.

"Now was that really necessary?" Hayes inquired.

"What happens in this room, stays in this room." Raymond responded to the noble with the same words he said earlier. Having nothing else to retort in response, Hayes simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

Before any of the other contestants could properly react to what had happened, their attention was drawn to the several monitors placed around the room. On all of the screens displayed a thin man in a suit standing in the middle of the ring of the coliseum. In front of the man was a table with a treasure box sitting on top of it.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Grandioso Spettacolo! Home of the famous Gioco Colosseo!" The announcer enthusiastically spoke into the microphone, hyping up the massive crowd that could be heard all throughout the island. "I have to say that we have some spectacular contestants today, as well as guests for that matter! Today this coliseum is being visited by the marvelous World Nobles!" He pointed to the VIP box seats, the reaction from the crowd was much larger than before, pleasing the World Nobles.

"As you are all aware, today the coliseum will be giving away a special prize for the winner of tonight's matches! And what is the prize you ask?" The announcer opened the box and pulled out a fruit. But of course it wasn't any ordinary fruit. The fruit has a deep shade of red and a curly stem. Its shell is hard and is protected by sharp thorns. The moment everyone laid their eyes on it, they immediately knew that it was a Devil Fruit.

"That's right ladies and gentlemen! The winner of the matches tonight will be awarded this devil fruit!" The announcer held the devil fruit high into the air to the sheer excitement of the crowd. Even the contestants in the waiting room were cheering and applauding at the thought of winning the devil fruit and gaining the power that it contained. Once the cheers eventually died down, the announcer placed the devil fruit back into the box and shut it closed before continuing to speak.

"Now usually we would be able to give you information as to what kind of devil fruit this is…however, this devil fruit is not registered in the devil fruit catalog book at all. Believe me, we checked. So to whomever wins the devil fruit today, please be advised that we are not held responsible for whatever happens to you when you eat this fruit."

 _"That's odd…an unknown devil fruit that managed to escape from the devil fruit catalog? Then how come the World Nobles know about this devil fruit?" Raymond stared intensely at the monitor screen, focusing his attention solely on the treasure box._

"This is how today's matches are going to work. The first two matches will be a battle royal, every man for himself. The winners of these battle royal matches will then face off against each other in a one-on-one match. The winner of that match will be crowned as the champion of the coliseum and they will be awarded the unknown devil fruit!" The announcer informed everyone.

"An unknown devil fruit? How exciting." Hayes smiled as he pat Raymond on the back, much to the annoyance of the young man. "Good luck out there. Try not to lose, okay?"

"I won't." Raymond nodded his head, steeling his resolve to accomplish his goals for today.

"Now then, without any further delays, let us begin with the first match for today! May the contestants for the first round please come out and enter the ring!" The announcer signaled the contestants.

Remembering that he was signed up for the first match, Raymond placed his hands in his pockets and followed the other contestants towards the ring. Today was the day. His plan was now going to be set in motion. He was going to win this tournament and finally escape from the World Nobles. There was no one that could stop him now that he was far away from the World Nobles, the marines, and his supervisor. His victory was assured. His escape was assured. Now all he had to do was go out there and put on a good show for the audience.

* * *

 **So that was the end of this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. The character Charlotte Flameheart belongs to Lightning God Traxid. Thank you so much for the character submission, I really appreciate it.**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Taken by me :D**

 **First Mate-Taken by me also :D**

 **Second Mate-?**

 **Navigator-?**

 **Doctor-?**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordsman-?**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-?**

 **Marksman-?**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-?**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-?**

 **Assassin-?**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	3. Round One! Fight!

**Round One! Fight!**

* * *

The first round in the coliseum was about to begin. Two hundred competitors had gathered around the large ring to fight it out in the match to choose the one that would advance in the next round to win the chance of obtaining the special prize. Which was revealed earlier to be a mysterious devil fruit that has somehow managed to evade the devil fruit catalog. The mysteriousness of that devil fruit managed to unnerve a couple of the competitors in the ring, and even some of the spectators in the audience. However, Raymond's will and determination to win the tournament and the devil fruit refused to waver. He did not care if the devil fruit was a mystery. The mystery would be unveiled soon enough. He was sure of that.

He glanced around the crowded ring, listening in on the conversations some of the other competitors were having. The main topic was about the mysterious devil fruit. They were discussing things about what the devil fruit was and where it possibly could have come from. Raymond was curious to know as well, but it was pointless to think about it since even the devil fruit catalog had no information on it. Seeing no need to further pay attention to that certain topic, he focused his ears on another one. This time the topic was about him. So he made sure to pay close attention.

Some of the competitors were mentioning his sneak attack against the champion earlier. They called his tactics "cheap", "lowdown", and "dirty". Some of them even contemplated on ratting him out to the officials and getting him kicked out of the tournament. But they decided against after thinking about the repercussions of their actions. After all, the World Nobles have come a long way from the Holy Land to enlist their slaves in the competition. If they were to snitch on their slave and get them kicked out of the match, no doubt the World Noble would get upset and have them all murdered. Obviously none of them wanted that.

Now that Raymond thought back on it, attacking the champion when he wasn't expecting it was unsportsmanlike. But what would a slave know about sportsmanship? Yeah, that would be his excuse if anyone brought it up during the match. He had never participated in any official sport in his life, so how should he know what's right and wrong for tournaments like these? Well it's not like it really mattered to him anyway. He was already standing in the ring, ready to fight alongside everyone else. If they truly had a problem with his actions earlier, then they could take it up with his fists.

While waiting around for the announcer to give the signal for the match to begin, he decided to take a look around and the arena out of sheer boredom. He took immediate notice of how the ring was surrounded by water. And not only that, but there were large shadows quickly passing through the water, causing him to step a little further away from the edge. Falling out of the ring during the fight was something that should definitely not happen to him. One, he could not swim. And two, he didn't know what kind of fish were swimming down there, but he certainly did not want to find out.

His gaze was then focused on the VIP seats over the four levels of seats for the audience. Sitting there comfortably in their chairs were the World Nobles, Saint Charles Flameheart, Saint Charlotte Flameheart, and lastly, Saint Damien Cornwall. Standing by their sides were their bodyguards, two elite officers of the Valentine Family, Hayes and Helena Valentine, and Vice-Admiral Gabriel Matthews. All of them were keep their eyes solely on Raymond, making sure that he didn't try to do anything funny like escape during the fight. Deciding to mess with them a little bit, he raised his arm above his head and waved happily towards them.

None of them seemed to be amused by the clear sarcastic gesture. Well except for Hayes that is. The blonde haired man smiled at Raymond and waved back, causing the slave to cringe in response and turn his head away to face another direction.

"Do you think that your slave will win this round, Sir Flameheart?" Hayes set his arm down and looked to the World Noble after receiving a sharp glare from his younger sister for casually waving at a slave in the presence of the World Nobles.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Charles seemed indifferent to the situation. "I only brought my slaves along so that you two would not need to waste your blades on those disgusting, filthy worms down there. Anyway, regarding the slave, should he fail to win this round…I see no benefit in keeping him alive."

"So you will set off the explosives in his collar the moment he loses?" Helena inquired.

"Indeed." Charles nodded his head. "And besides, if the first slave fails me, I know for sure that the second one will not. Speaking of which, where did you leave it anyway?" The World Noble looked to Gabriel for confirmation.

"I left it outside of the VIP room. My subordinates are keeping an eye on it as we speak." Gabriel immediately answered.

"Excellent." Charles smiled in satisfaction and looked back towards the ring. "Should the two of them end up fighting each in the final match, it does not matter who wins. As long as I get that devil fruit, everything will be okay."

"At first I was wondering what was so special about that devil fruit. But the fact that no one has any information on it makes it quite mysterious." Helena voiced her input.

"The power of that devil fruit will be revealed soon enough. We just have to be patient." Damien reclined in his chair and smiled.

"Yes! Saint Damien-sama!" Helena happily squealed, her eyes morphed into eyes and she seemingly appeared to begin floating off the ground. Hayes seemed fine with his sister's antics while the others were put off by it. They decided to ignore her and return their attention to the ring once the announcer finally signaled for the start of the match.

At the start of the match, the audience and the competitors let out a mighty roar of excitement. After that, all hell broke loose. Raymond's ear drums were bombarded by the sounds of metal clashing against metal. Nearly all of the participants were equipped with weapons and armor. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous and left out. Was there some kind of weapon room checkout place or something that he had missed out on? Sure his fighting style had nothing to do with weapons, but it still wouldn't have hurt him to have one.

"Oi! What are you doing standing around for?" Raymond looked over his shoulder to see a large man wielding an axe standing behind him with a sadistic grin plastered onto his face. Any ordinary man would cower in fear by the mere sight of the man. But not Raymond. He felt sense of fear or danger from the man. Instead he felt annoyed that the man had approached him.

It was clear to him that the man was a novice when it came to battle. Out of everyone in the ring to target, he chose to target the strongest one. Although this may have just been his ego talking. But after giving it some thought, Raymond couldn't blame the man. So far he hadn't moved an inch from his spot. Everyone else was battling it out to win the match and yet he wasn't. So from the perspective of others, it would seem like Raymond wasn't taking this seriously.

"When you're in this ring, you had best fight!" The large man pointed his axe at the slave, trying to intimidate him. "I saw what you did to the champion earlier! Pretty gutless of you to attack him while his guard was down! I thought about doing the same thing to you! But then I realized I would be no better than you if I did!"

"So instead of taking advantage of a distracted opponent, you decided to challenge me up front and personal?" Raymond finally turned around and faced the man. "Let me tell you about the first few mistakes that you've already made here today. One, during a battle, it doesn't matter if you attack an opponent from behind or not. Anyone that shows their back to the enemy clearly deserves a few scars on it. Two, now that you've personally challenged me, I'm going to see to it that I take you down in this match."

"You're a cocky son of a bitch, aren't you? For a slave, I thought you would be far more…reserved." The large man arched his eyebrow. "Even though you belong to the World Nobles and your defeat would clearly upset them. I will not hesitate to show them how foolish it was to have a mere slave participate in this match!"

As if acting upon signal, a few competitors swarmed Raymond from behind, their respective weapons at the ready to strike him down while his back was turned. Seconds before their weapons could touch him, the slave suddenly vanished. The competitors and the large man stood there in shock by the sudden disappearance of their target. They looked all around the ring and saw nothing but other competitors fighting each other. There was no clear sign of Raymond anywhere. That was until someone from the crowd pointed out his location.

The competitors followed that person's finger until they were staring up into the air where Raymond resided. Their jaws nearly dropped to the floor upon seeing how high the young man had managed to jump. They quickly got over their moment of shock once Raymond came flying back down towards them with his feet pointed directly at the large man with the axe. The large man stood his ground and blocked the slave's kick with the handle of his axe, however, the force of the kick knocked the man back a couple of feet.

"Quite sturdy." Raymond commented as he kicked off the man's axe and landed on the ground in front of the competitors that tried to ambush him before. Before they could even react, he struck them down with a flurry of kicks. Once they were down he looked over his shoulder to see the large man approaching him with his axe raised above his head. Raymond jumped up at the exact moment the man swung his axe, narrowly evading it.

He then latched his arms onto the man's shoulders during his flip over him, mercilessly driving his knees into the man's back. The man exclaimed in excruciating pain as he succumbed to the attack and dropped down onto his knees. But his punishment did not end there. The man was still conscious, even if just barely. Raymond couldn't allow that. He raised his leg above his head and slammed it down on the man's head. The pavement in that section of the ring was completely demolished once the man's head made impact.

"No way! That slave took down a man with such a large body down in a matter of seconds?" Some of the competitors ceased fighting and stared in awe at the moment of sheer power and speed that Raymond had showcased to everyone.

"Impressive." Gabriel kept his eyes on Raymond. Now he knew why the slave was rather confident the other day. He did not know where the young man had learned to fight like that, but he could not wait to see more.

"Hey, maybe we should rethink our strategy in targeting the slave." Some of the competitors began to lose their nerve once Raymond looked up from the unconscious body of the large man he had easily defeated moments ago. Within a blink of an eye Raymond appeared behind the competitors that were planning on running away. He grabbed a hold of two of them and ruthlessly unleashed another flurry of kicks, knocking them back into other competitors.

"How exhilarating…" Raymond set his foot back down onto the ground, searching around the ring for more opponents to strike down. If he had to guess, it had been around seven minutes since the match started. There were two hundred people that were assigned to this round. Judging by the number of people still standing, he estimated that there were at least around one hundred and thirty left. "It's been awhile since I actually enjoyed myself in a fight! Come at me you! Before I come at you!"

"Is that slave battle crazy?" Helena seemed disgusted by the actions of Raymond.

"I do not know if battle crazy is the correct term to use." Hayes answered. "I will admit that he does seem excited."

"That slave is a savage. Of course he enjoys fights like these." Charles interjected as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand, watching his slave continue to chase down fleeing competitors. "Back at the Holy Land I placed him in the pits on a regular basis. He fought to survive. At first he was nowhere near as powerful as he is now."

"He had best not let it go to his head. There are still plenty of opponents out there in that ring. One wrong misstep could be a matter of life and death." Charlotte mentioned.

"Somebody take down that slave already!" A wounded competitor cried out to the others before he was struck down by a fierce blow to his stomach, delivered by Raymond of course. Heeding to the cries of the now fallen man, other competitors swarmed around the slave again, this time entrapping him within their circle.

They all rushed him and once with their weapons at the ready. Raymond quickly dropped down onto one hand and balanced himself on it before he proceeded to rotate around rapidly, delivering savage kicks to each of the attackers.

"Too naïve! You're not going to take me down by swarming me like that!" He proudly announced to the remaining opponents.

"Your back is wide open, slave!" Another competitor came up from behind Raymond and swung his sword at him. Raymond predicted the "surprise" attack ahead of time and jumped out of the way. Upon landing, he rushed towards the competitor with his fist raised, preparing to finish the man with a swift punch.

The competitor stood his ground and swung his sword around wildly, hoping to slice and dice the incoming opponent to pieces. However, his hopes were dashed as Raymond evaded each and every last single swing until he was face to face with the man. The competitor was soon blown back after having his face caved in by the slave's fierce punch. But he was far from out. While flying back, the competitor grabbed a hold of the chain hanging from the bomb collar around Raymond's neck and forced him along with him.

The two of them sprawled across the floor and then eventually came to a stop. Raymond recovered quickly and looked up to see his chain still resting within the hands of the competitor. The competitor returned to his feet and lightly tugged on the chain, causing Raymond to flinch and grimace in response. Seeing the slave make such an expression by only a light tug, the competitor grinned menacingly.

"What's wrong? What happened to that arrogant expression of yours earlier?" The competitor taunted Raymond. Now that the chain to his explosive collar was in the hands of his opponent, Raymond could no longer mess around here. His life was now entirely in the hands of that man. If he didn't play his cards right, he could end up dying right there in that ring. No matter what he had to do, he refused to die here.

"What do you plan on doing with that chain?" Raymond hesitantly asked the man, trying not to show any trace of fear or nervousness. If he let on that he was actually worried about the situation that he was currently in, then the opponent had already won.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are. In the end, you're still just a slave to the World Nobles. Which means that this chain is connected to the explosive collar around your neck. Should I so happen to just accidentally remove the chain from your collar…" The competitor lightly tugged on the chain again. Raymond instinctively moved forward as to not allow the chain to be removed from the collar. "Your collar will activate and your head will be blown clean off your shoulders. A truly devastating way to go if I were to say so myself."

Raymond bit his lip at the mention of the explosive collar going off. He had seen it before. Whenever slaves attempted to run away from their masters, they would immediately destroy the chains attached to their collars, unknowingly activating the explosive collars. Since he had seen it so many times before, the explosive collars wouldn't go off until after sixty seconds. Escaped slaves had exactly one minute to remove the collars from their necks before they exploded. And now he found himself in a position where he would suffer the exact same fate. His heart rate increased. Bullets of sweat began to run down his face.

His eyes shifted from left to right multiple times, glancing around the area to look for anything that could potentially free him from his current situation. He immediately noticed that there were a few weapons from defeated competitors lying across the ground. But he knew that if he attempted to reach for any of them, the man in front of him would yank the chain with all his might and then his head would get blown to smithereens within sixty seconds. He also took notice of the fewer amount of competitors left within the ring. Most of them were still fighting each other, but there were a rare few that simply stood by and watched him.

"Suddenly have nothing to say?" The competitor taunted the silent Raymond. "You know; your appearance today really pisses me off. I came here expecting to have a good fight against the champion of this coliseum. But thanks to you, I won't get that chance to defeat him since you took it upon yourself to take him out beforehand."

"So what do you want from me? It's not my fault the champion was weak." Raymond said.

"I want you to apologize to me and the entire audience for your actions today. You have made a mockery of this coliseum and to all of those that come here, giving all of their blood and sweat to entertain these people. And then after that, I want you to beg for your life like a good slave. And then after that, why don't you get down on all fours and lick my shoes?" The competitor gave his demands. Something inside Raymond snapped after hearing the competitor's requests. An immense amount of blood lust emitted from his body which made all of the hairs on the competitor's body to stand.

"Really…why do you think you're so important?" Raymond muttered. He slowly reached his arm out and grabbed onto the chain. "Simply because you think you have the right to control someone else's life, you think you can make them do such degrading things without suffering any consequences?"

"W-What are you doing?" The competitor uncontrollably began to shake. All of his instincts were telling him to release the chain and run away from Raymond. But his body simply refused to listen to him.

"You're no different from them. So I shall make you into an example." Without warning Raymond pulled on the chain, forcing the unsuspecting competitor off his feet and towards him. Raymond clenched his hand into a tight fist. But it was not any ordinary fist. This fist contained a portion of pent up rage and aggression that had been built up inside of him for many years. And without any restraint, remorse, or care for the well-being of the recipient of this punch, the slave ruthlessly unleashed his rage on the competitor with that one fist.

The unfortunate competitor was rendered unconscious immediately once the fist made contact with his face. He was then thrown outside of the ring where he collided against the concrete wall. Everyone in the coliseum grew silently after witnessing such a punch. No one had expected the slave to have suddenly turned the tables on the competitor. The moment of silence was soon broken once the audience began to cheer even louder than before. They began to cheer for Raymond, turning him into the crowd favorite within seconds.

The anger within Raymond immediately subsided after hearing the crowd cheer for him. His infuriated expression from before had long disappeared and it was replaced with a goofy grin. Since the other competitors were far too shocked by his previous attack to even move, no one attempted to attack him as he waved to the fans. Sensing that no one else even had the will to fight him any longer, Raymond made quick work of the remaining competitors. By the end of things, all of the competitors were all stacked up in a pile with Raymond standing on top them, boasting and posing in glory.

"Well that first match up was…interesting…" Gabriel was nearly at a loss for words after watching the entire match. Two hundred people were assigned for the first match and a majority of them were dominated by a single person.

"Interesting would be the correct word to use in this case." Hayes agreed with the Vice-Admiral.

"I do not think that he was that impressive. Sure he dominated the entire match and all, but if he were to fight against anyone that was competent. He would have lost within minutes." Helena evaluated Raymond with a blank stare.

"Perhaps. I guess we will find out after the second match is through." Hayes looked to his little sister with his usual smile.

"It will take some time for the officials to clear the losers out of the ring." Charles looked to Gabriel. "I want you to take the other slave downstairs and get him prepped for his match."

"As you wish, Sir Flameheart." Gabriel bowed his head to the World Noble and then headed out of the VIP room.

After he left, Charles turned his attention to Hayes and gave him his orders. "I want you to head downstairs as well and continue to supervise the first slave. I do not want him to embarrass me any further today than he already has. If he tries anything funny, do not hesitate to kill him."

"As you wish, Saint Flameheart." Hayes bowed his head to the World Noble before he left the room to complete the task given to him.

"I told you that bringing that slave around to compete would create interesting results, father." Charlotte spoke up.

"You were right, Charlotte. I am sorry for ever doubting your judgement." Charles apologized to his daughter. "Let us see if the second slave will be as interesting as the first one."

* * *

After having won the first match of the tournament, Raymond was directed back towards the waiting room where the other competitors for round two resided. Usually it was the policy of the coliseum to direct its competitors to the infirmary after each match. However, after witnessing the dominating display that Raymond put on for the audience, they felt no need to waste their medical supplies on someone that had barely received any damage during the fight. Upon returning to the waiting room, everyone remained silent and carefully eyed Raymond. They witnessed his skills from the monitors set up around the room and they did not wish to be on the receiving end of any of his attacks. They immediately cleared a path for him as he walked further down into the room.

Raymond couldn't help but smirk at how easily everyone was moving out of his way. He rarely ever got the opportunity to flaunt his strength. So he was trying to savor the moment for as long as he could. The first phase of his plan had been completed. He had done his job and won the first match of the tournament. So his spot in the finals was guaranteed. No one could take that away from him. Now all he had to do for phase two was wait and see who would win the second round of the tournament. He looked around the waiting room and he didn't see anyone that really stood out from the competitors.

They were all simply too generic. They all had their own weapons and armor, but none of them seemed all that powerful. Although he guessed that he wasn't really one to talk. Compared to the other contestants, he looked like a complete amateur. So simply judging someone by their appearance wasn't something that he should be doing on a regular basis. He didn't want to end up like the others that had underestimated him in the past. While he was so deep in thought about the second round of the tournament, he failed to notice the presence of a familiar blonde haired swordsman from earlier.

Hayes reached his arm out and grabbed a hold of Raymond's shoulder. Raymond in turn acted on impulse and threw a sharp punch aimed towards Hayes' face. Instead of colliding against the man's face like he had intended, it had landed into the rough palm of the blonde haired man. All of the onlooking competitors exclaimed in shock upon seeing Raymond's punch getting blocked so easily, especially with just one hand.

"You know that your fight is over, right? There is no need to be on your guard anymore." Hayes casually spoke with Raymond before releasing his grip on the slave's hand.

"...Yeah..." Raymond took a quick glance at his hand and grimaced at the sight of abrasions that Hayes had left behind after blocking his punch. He lowered his hand and stuffed it into his pocket.

"You did a great job in your match. It was quite interesting." Hayes looked to the slave with his usual soft smile. "However, I would like to offer you some advice."

"Advice?"

"Yes, advice." Hayes nodded. "You possess proficient skills in your martial art, whatever it is. You have also proven yourself to have considerable strength, speed, agility, and reflexes during combat. I do not think that there is anyone participating in this tournament that can match you."

"Thank you?" Ray was flummoxed as to what Hayes was trying to tell. Complimenting him on his skills in battle didn't seem like very good advice.

"However, your arrogance and overconfidence will be the downfall of you someday if you are not careful." Hayes' soft smile disappeared. His expression was rather stern now. The blonde haired man slowly reached his arm out and tapped onto the chain connected to Raymond's explosive collar. "Despite your strengths, your weaknesses are also out in the open...like this chain for example. I am certain that the winner of the second round will exploit that weakness of yours. So be careful not to let the chain get grabbed again, okay?"

"...Okay." Raymond nodded his head in understanding. It was assuring that Hayes was looking out for him and all. But it really pissed him off as well. Despite Hayes' kind words to him, he was still associated with the World Nobles, which he planned to kill in the near future. When that day came, there was no doubt in his mind that others such as the Valentine Family would stand in his way. He needed to be prepared for that. As of right now, Hayes was out of his league. He stood no chance against him.

From what he knew about the Valentine Family so far, all of their members trained in the way of the sword. All members were accomplished swordsman. And the elite members were considered to be "monsters" within the group. He had personally never seen Hayes fight before, or even reach for his sword for that matter. But that didn't matter to him. He didn't need to see the man fight. The way Hayes carried himself already proved his superior strength. It pained Raymond to admit, but he was intimidated by Hayes. His character was just too difficult to grasp.

Unlike other nobles he had encountered over the years, Hayes was different. He was nice and sincere. He cared about people and clearly wasn't against giving people some advice if they needed it. It puzzled Raymond as to why such a man would willingly serve the World Nobles, especially after knowing how entirely cruel and corrupted they were. He wanted to ask Hayes so many questions. But he still couldn't afford to trust the man to keep it to himself. So without saying another word, Raymond looked to the monitors once the announcer had requested for the competitors for the second round to come to the ring now that it had been cleared from the bodies from the first round. The competitors immediately cleared the room and went towards the ring.

Raymond and Hayes' attention was drawn towards the entrance to the waiting room. Gabriel entered the room while pushing a large metal box on wheels. Immediately recognizing the metallic container, Raymond smiled. With that certain person now entering the second round of the tournament, the final match was definitely going to get interesting for him.

"That is the other slave that Sir Flameheart mentioned." Hayes watched Gabriel push the metal box out of the room and towards the ring. "I wonder if that slave is as strong as you."

"Perhaps." Raymond said. "It has been bugging me for a long time now that we've never had the opportunity to fight each other even once. I'm really looking forward for the final match now."

"You seem confident that the slave will win." Hayes looked to Raymond, taking immediate notice of the excited expression on the slave's face.

Meanwhile in the ring, Gabriel had just finished bringing the metal box in the center of the ring. The competitors made sure to steer clear from the box since they had absolutely no clue what to expect. The Vice-Admiral removed the chains from around the container and then knocked on it a few times, signaling for the person within to step outside. Almost immediately, the door to the metal box swung open and a pair of hands came out from the darkness within the box and gripped onto the sides of it. Everyone was shocked to see that the pair of hands that came out of the box were webbed. Eventually the person within the box stepped out completely, shocking the competitors and those in the audience.

The person was clearly not human. It was a Fishman. A rather large and muscular Fishman with black skin and wide, crazed red and yellow eyes. Like every other Fishman, he has gills on his neck, as well as webbed hands and feet. He has long, swept-back black hair that resembles a mane, and it also partially conceals the dorsal fin on his back. He also has light horns on his head. Since he is a slave like Raymond, he too is wearing nothing more than rags. Around his neck is the explosive collar with the chain hanging down and touching the ground, and even his wrists and ankles are bound by the shackles.

"Do not try anything funny." Gabriel ordered before he used a key in his hand to remove the restraints on the Fishman's ankles and wrists. Once finished, the Vice-Admiral took one last glance at the competitors now standing in the ring, inwardly praying for their safety during the match. After that, he collected the metal box and rolled it out of the ring.

"The first slave of the World Nobles was a human that was ridiculously strong. And now this one is a Fishman. We don't stand a chance." Some of the competitors silently voiced their complaints.

"That's no ordinary Fishman. He belongs to the Fighting Fishman species. You know, like the ones used in Dressrosa in their coliseum matches."

"The World Nobles are putting out all the stops to take that devil fruit."

"If that were true, they would have simply bought the devil fruit and avoided all of this fighting and bloodshed. I think they just want to see us fight each other."

The Fishman simply ignored the competitors words and stared blankly at his hands. It had been weeks since he had the chance to move around freely, so he planned to make use of his time. He had been briefed about what he needed to do. The World Nobles wanted him to participate in the tournament and bring them the devil fruit. They said that they would consider freeing him as long as he accomplished that simple task. But he wasn't stupid. He knew that the World Nobles would never let him go. He had been branded by them and he had served them for years. Despite their words meaning nothing to him, as long as he had the explosive collar around his neck, their words were law.

"Now that all of the competitors are in the ring! Let's begin with the second round!" The announcer gave the signal for the second round to begin.

"Now then...which one of you will be my first meal?" The Fishman glared at the competitors, opening his mouth and baring his sharp fangs at them.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! Also there are still plenty of spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Taken by me :D**

 **First Mate-Taken by me also :D**

 **Second Mate-?**

 **Navigator-?**

 **Doctor-?**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordsman-?**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-?**

 **Marksman-?**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-?**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-?**

 **Assassin-?**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	4. Round Two! Fight!

**Round Two! Fight!**

* * *

The second round of the tournament had finally begun. Similar to the beginning of the first round, all of the competitors and the audience let out a mighty roar before actually commencing with the fight. But instead of fighting each other, all of the competitors banded together and formed a large group to take down the most fearsome competitor in the round…the Fighting Fish Fishman. Having witnessed the one-sided beat down that was the first round of the tournament, the competitors within the waiting room decided to team up against the second slave in case he turned out to be powerful as well. So after it was revealed that the second slave was a Fishman, they were more determined than ever to gang up and beat him down. They did not want the reputation of the coliseum to be soiled again by the slaves of the World Nobles.

Although teaming up in a battle royal was highly frowned up, by evidence of the audience beginning to boo and hiss at the sight, the competitors ignored them and went on the attack. The Fishman however was not deterred by the sight of the approaching enemies. In fact, he rather enjoyed the situation at the moment. He had been cooped up in a hot box for several weeks, so he was in dire need for some exercise. The Fishman clenched his hands into fists and took his stance, waiting for the competitors to draw a little closer for his technique to work. Once they were within range, he punched the air in front him, causing the competitors to cease with their charge and flinch in response, not knowing what to expect from the Fishman. There was a moment of silence until some of the competitors were suddenly knocked off their feet and knocked out of the ring into the water.

Unfortunately, the pain for the competitors did not end there. Within the depths of the water lied a school of sharks. Upon seeing the competitors within their territory, they swam towards them at a high speed and devoured them. The blood of the competitors stained the water within that area, shocking the other competitors and the audience. Everyone's eyes were soon drawn back to the Fishman. There wasn't a single trace of remorse expressed on his face. It rather seemed like he enjoyed what he had just done. He looked to the fist that had caused the deaths of the competitors, making small comments like the punch was 'too soft'.

The competitors were infuriated at the fact that several of them were killed by a single punch that was considered "too soft" by the Fishman. It damaged their pride greatly. They were aware that Fishmen were stronger than humans at birth, but they did not expect it to be to this effect. Ordinary people would have been so shaken by the deaths of the others that they would have dropped their weapons and immediately surrendered. Some of the weaker competitors truly wanted to. But because of the influence of the large competitor leading the others into a different battle formation, they somewhat regained their nerve.

In a matter of seconds, the competitors entrapped the Fishman in a large circle, leaving him standing in the middle of the ring. The arrogant expressions of their faces and the menacing chuckles escaping through their mouth's irritated the Fishman. Despite his initial attack being considered "soft" to him, it was still nonetheless a warning. A warning for them to back off before they joined their comrades in the afterlife. But being the idiotic humans that they were, the warning was ignored. Which meant that they wished to die by the Fishman's hands.

The Fishman banged his fists together and gave the surrounding competitors and sadistic grin before speaking. "Come at me." He ordered.

Using that as their signal, the competitors raised their weapons and charged at the stationary Fishman, believing that with their teamwork they could take him down. It did not take long for them to realize how horribly wrong they were. The Fishman rushed ahead delivered a roundhouse kick to an attacking competitor, immediately following up with a spinning elbow strike to another competitor. He then looked up to see three airborne competitors coming at him with their weapons raised above their heads. The Fishman leaped up into the air and impaled the middle competitor with his horns while also holding his arms out to clothesline the other two.

Before landing, he punched towards the ground and manipulated the water vapors in the air to send another group of competitors flying. While his back was turned a competitor attacked him from behind with his mace. The weapon unfortunately snapped in half after making contact with the Fishman's body. The Fishman slowly turned around and glared at the competitor. He then grabbed a hold of the poor man's neck and tossed him over to other competitors, watching in amusement as they went down like dominoes.

"This is even more one-sided than the first round." Hayes commented from within the waiting room, watching the match from the monitors along with Raymond. "The other competitors should just surrender at this point. They do not stand a chance against that Fishman."

"They're a bunch of idiots, that's why." Raymond commented. "They believe that strength in numbers will help them in this situation. But that is clearly not the case here. That Fishman is holding back, trying to warm himself up before the final round of the tournament."

"Well unfortunately those competitors will not be much of a warm up for him." Hayes shook his head as he continued to watch the Fishman dominate the second round with ease. "It looks like it will be you against the Fishman in the final round. How do you plan on defeating him?"

Raymond folded his arms, lowered his head, and then closed his eyes. He was in deep thought. He had never had the opportunity to fight against a Fishman until now. He did not know much about them besides the fact that they were ten times stronger than humans at birth, which only multiplied when they were submerged underwater. And that they could manipulate water itself. Truly the Fishmen were a terrifying race to fight against. But Raymond wasn't deterred by that fact. He was rather excited to have the chance to go up against such a tough opponent.

"I am not sure how I will defeat him. But I am confident that I will beat him." Raymond raised his head and smiled.

"Having confidence is certainly a good thing. I look forward to seeing the match you two put on for the World Nobles." Hayes nodded and returned his attention to the screen.

"This is getting ridiculous! We can't land a single strike on this guy!" The competitors began to panic upon realizing that their superior numbers were beginning to dwindle down dramatically. The second round of the tournament had three hundred participants. But after a short span of ten minutes, that number dropped down to about one hundred and thirty. All of them were ruthlessly struck down by the Fighting Fish Fishman.

"The Fishman race are terrifying! How did the World Nobles manage to get their hands on him?" More competitors began to panic.

"Have you finally lost your will to continue?" The Fishman looked to the competitors with disgust. "Save yourselves some trouble and just give up. I thought I would get some time to properly warm up with you filthy humans. But as it turns out, you're not even worth the effort."

His words stabbed through the hearts of all the competitors. Their faces turned red and their bodies trembled as they tried to suppress their rage. Being humiliated and talked down to by a race that they considered inferior to them was too much to handle. Their pride had already been damaged before, but at this point it was considered nonexistent. They had been trying to defeat him with everything they had and yet the Fishman was simply toying with them. They even began to suspect that the Fishman could have ended the match as soon as it began, only infuriating them even more. Their rage clouded their better judgement and they resumed with the match.

The Fishman shook his head in disappointment after witnessing the stupidity of the incoming humans. He cracked his knuckles and proceeded to make quick work of them. He blocked and evaded the competitors attacks before secreting water from his webbed hands. A menacing smirk etched its way onto his face as he tossed the droplets of water towards them. Underestimating the water thrown at them, the competitors allowed the water to make contact with their bodies as they went in for attacks of their own. That proved to be a grave mistake on their part. The moment the water made contact with their bodies, it felt as if they were hit with the blast from a shotgun.

All of their armor was immediately rendered useless as it shattered to pieces immediately. The sight of their comrades getting taken down by water lowered the morale of the other competitors. Some of them dropped their weapons and attempted to run away. Unfortunately, that option was off the table long ago. The Fishman secreted more water and hurled it towards the fleeing competitors. The drops of water were converted into deadly arrows that pierced through the bodies of the competitors through sheer kinetic force.

The water barrage only continued as the Fishman mercilessly thinned the ranks of the competitors. The match which contained one hundred and thirty competitors was quickly dropped down to forty in a matter of minutes.

"I give it another ten minutes until the entire ring is cleared." Raymond said, having grown bored of the match a while ago. He was surprised at how the audience could continue to cheer at the match despite how one sided it was. At least in his match wasn't that one sided. Or at least from his perspective. When he was fighting in the first round, the competitors at least had some chance of victory despite how small the percentage was. But for this match, the chances of them winning was exactly zero.

"Your chances of victory against that Fishman grow slimmer and slimmer the more I continue to watch this match." Hayes commented. He seemed genuinely concerned for the well-being of the competitors and Raymond as well. "That Fishman barely leaves any openings. He is ruthless and truly does not care for the lives of his opponents."

"Yeah I picked up on that as well. Back in the pit he's far more ruthless and bloodthirsty. Although I think that has something to do with his species." Raymond informed the blonde haired swordsman. "I'm truly looking forward to our match now. Fighting against a Fishman should be an excellent way to test my strength."

"Be careful about that overconfidence of yours. The fact that you are considering it to be a test somewhat worries me." Hayes told him.

"Your worry is unneeded. I'll be fine." Raymond assured the man, returning his gaze back into the ring. A majority of the competitors had been wiped out while his attention was elsewhere. The only people standing in the ring was the Fishman and a large competitor that appeared to be the one responsible for everyone teaming up earlier.

"Well…this certainly didn't go exactly as I had planned it to." The large competitor ran his hand through his hair, chuckling to himself about his foiled plan. After watching the first round of the tournament, he convinced the other competitors to follow his command and jump the second slave. He expected the second slave to be just as strong if not stronger than the first one. So he wasn't surprised when a few of his pawns were taken down. But now all of them were down and out. It was now just him and the Fishman.

"As I thought. You were the one behind this." The Fishman looked to the large man in disgust. Since the beginning of the match, the man had made no attempt to actively participate. He instead remained in the back and shouted orders to the other competitors, hoping that at least one of them would be competent enough to get the job done. Once the Fishman had been eliminated from the match, he had planned to back stab everyone and then move onward to the final match.

"That's correct!" The large man placed his spiked mace over his shoulder, looking down at the Fishman before him. "You sure are one hell of a fighter! You didn't even break a sweat taking down all of those weaklings!"

"Of course I didn't break a sweat. You humans are inferior to use Fishmen. When it comes to terms of raw power, we can't be beat." The Fishman proudly stated while crossing his arms over his chest.

"If that was truly the case, then you wouldn't have been captured or have been made a slave." The large man decided to strike a nerve and upset the Fishman. He smiled cruelly at the sight of the Fishman's brows furrowing. Surely upsetting a Fishman was a bad idea since his strength was indeed superior to his. However, whenever someone allowed their anger to cloud their better judgement, they tended to make mistakes. And that was what the man was waiting for. He was waiting for the Fishman to lose his temper and make a mistake.

Once that happened, he would capitalize on that moment and eliminate him from the fight one way or the other. The only problem was that the Fishman wasn't angry enough yet. Sure his brows furrowed and he was glaring daggers at the large man. But it wasn't enough. He needed the Fishman to be seeing with rage or else the plan wouldn't work. He needed to try harder.

"I don't know how you managed to get captured, but that certainly means that you're not as invincible as you make yourself out to be. You can be defeated. You will be defeated." The large man continued to mock the Fishman, taking mental notes of his angered expression. "How does it feel by the way? Becoming the slave to a race that you consider to be inferior to your own? It kind of opens your eyes as to which race is truly superior. You Fishmen should remain under the sea where you belong. Because if you come up here, the only use that you have is to serve us for the rest of your miserable lives."

"You're a dead man…" The Fishman coldly stated. The large man smiled in response to his words. He believed that now his plan would succeed. The Fishman looked ready to rip his head clean off his shoulders. Now if everything proceeded smoothly, that wouldn't happen.

"Before we fight each other, I think it's only fair that we introduce ourselves. My name is Spencer." Spencer introduced himself, pointing his spiked mace at the Fishman. There was a moment of silence as the two competitors stared blankly at each other. Spencer leaned forward and gestured for the Fishman to introduce himself. However, the Fishman simply stood there, making no attempt to introduce himself to the man. "What's your name, Fishman? Are you too stupid to even introduce yourself properly? Didn't your masters teach you that it's rude not to introduce yourself?"

"Oh…is that what you wanted?" The Fishman feigned ignorance, gaining an angered glare from the man in response. "I don't want my name to come out of the mouths of filthy humans like you. You'll just have to settle for the fact that you lost to me and live with that honor for the rest of your miserable life."

"Don't you dare look down on me! You are beneath me in every way! Don't get cocky just because you've defeated two hundred and ninety-eight people!" Spencer angrily shouted at the Fishman, waving his spiked mace around.

"It's about to be two hundred and ninety-nine. Now stop talking and fight. The audience is growing restless waiting for you shut your trap." The Fishman pointed at Spencer.

"Now you're dead!" Spencer lost his temper and charged at the Fishman with his spiked mace at the ready.

The Fishman remained still and smiled at the sight of the man running at him. He had long realized Spencer's plan to infuriate him. It was such an amateurish plan. Anyone could have come up with it on the spot. Since Spencer seemed so adamant on going through with that plan, the Fishman decided to play along and pretend to get upset by the man's simple minded taunts and provocations. Now the shoe was on the other foot. Spencer was playing in the hands of the Fishman now.

Once Spencer was finally within range of the Fishman, he let out a mighty roar and swung his spiked mace downward, aiming to drive the Fishman into the ground. With only one hand the Fishman managed to completely stop the spiked mace from harming him. Spencer leaned forward and put all of his strength into the mace, but it simply refused to budge an inch. The Fishman looked blankly to the strained face of Spencer. His face was red and he was sweating profusely. The Fishman actually felt embarrassed watching this scene.

"This is getting embarrassing. I don't know why you thought you could defeat me, but it's over." The Fishman drove his free hand into the gut of Spencer. Despite it being a basic straight punch, it was more than enough to send Spencer flying out of the ring and falling into the shark infested waters down below. With only the Fishman left standing in the ring, the announcer called an end to the match and the audience happily cheered.

"That was embarrassing even for me to watch." Raymond looked away from the monitors and sighed. The match was long over before it even truly began. He didn't know why the competitors even bothered to fight against the Fishman in the first place.

"Oh well, at least Saint Charles will be getting his devil fruit." Hayes smiled at the results of the match. The strength of both the slaves intrigued him. He was curious to see which one of them would end up winning the devil fruit for the World Nobles in the end.

Both Hayes and Raymond turned their attention to the entrance of the room to see the Fishman approaching. Raymond quickly walked over to the Fishman and extended his arm out for a handshake. However, the Fishman wasn't in the mood to be so civil. Once Raymond got too close, the Fishman shoved him out of the way and then proceeded to take a seat in a chair nearby.

"What was that for?! All I wanted to do was shake your hand and congratulate you on a nicely fought match!" Raymond snapped at the Fishman.

"I don't want you touching me, human! It's bad enough I had to touch your filthy skin already!" The Fishman looked to Raymond and growled at him, displaying much animosity.

"Why you son of a…" Raymond prepared to lunge at the Fishman until Hayes stood in between them, preventing a fight.

"Okay, okay, that is enough. Save the fighting for the ring, alright?" Hayes wholeheartedly laughed, trying to ease some of the tension between the two of them. Since he was ordered to supervise the both of them, the last thing he needed for them to do was to fight. Although it wasn't like it would have taken him long to subdue them both in the process.

"Right…I'll teach you some manners in the ring. I hope you're ready for that." Raymond slammed his fist into the palm of his hand, grinning confidently. The Fishman simply rolled his eyes in response, refusing to pay Raymond any further mind. After having completed the second round of the tournament, the announcer informed everyone that there would be an hour long intermission. This was so that everyone could go get food and beverages, use the restroom, or doing whatever they felt like to pass the time. In all honesty, Raymond nor the Fishman felt the need to have any rest. They didn't use much energy in their matches, so they were ready to go at any moment. But since they weren't the ones in charge of the entire event, they would have to abide by the rules and wait for their match.

* * *

Meanwhile in the VIP room, the World Nobles remained in their chairs, being served exquisite wine by one of their bodyguards, Helena Valentine. Charles himself was exceedingly happy about how well this plan was working out. At first he had only expected the Fishman slave to move onward to the final round of the tournament. But as it turned out, both slaves put on an excellent show and won their respective matches. Now within an hour's time, they would be fighting each other for the chance to win the special prize which was the unknown devil fruit. His plans were close to coming into fruition. It did not matter which one of his slaves won the match, in the end, he would be the true winner.

"Did you hear the cheers of those worms down there, father? They marveled the match the entire time despite how one sided it was." Charlotte snobbishly mentioned. She could not understand how the audience could cheer at such a boring match. Throughout the entire match she kept yawning, trying to keep herself awake by thinking of anything else besides the fight. Somehow she had managed to pull it off. But it was still rather difficult.

"They are simple commoners. Which means that they enjoy simple entertainment." Damien voiced his input on the match, agreeing with Charlotte on how boring and mundane it was. He honestly wanted to fall asleep as well during the match, but there was one problem that kept him awake. And that problem was none other than Helena. Ever since he had arrived on the island, the blonde haired woman had kept her eyes on him the entire time. Even within the VIP, she kept close to him, extremely close.

She made excuses like she wanted to be ready to protect him at a moment's notice. At first that was fine with him. Since they were outside of the Holy Land, their safety zone, it would only be fair for bodyguards to remain close. However, Helena was the type to take her job as a bodyguard to the extreme. Whenever someone from the coliseum staff would come to deliver their food, she would tackle them to the ground and briefly interrogate them; via sword held against their necks. Then she would taste test the food, mainly Damien's, before serving it to the others.

"Well it does not matter. We are not here for those peasants. We are here for one reason and one reason alone. That mysterious devil fruit." Charles reminded Charlotte and Damien. The two World Nobles exchanged glances and nodded their heads in understanding of the situation. "It took some time for our informants to find that devil fruit, but now it is almost ours. Just one more hour. One more hour until it is within our hands."

"Forgive me for asking, but what do you plan to do with such a devil fruit once you have it?" Vice-Admiral Gabriel Matthews spoke up from the corner of the room. He had remained quiet for quite some time so that he could at least learn a little information regarding the World Nobles' plans for the devil fruit. But their conversations have been rather vague from his perspective. He did not enjoy the fact that the World Nobles were keeping him in the dark, especially since he had spent the past few weeks escorting them to the island in the first place.

Through his eyes, he was a crucial part of their plans. Sure they could have found another marine unit to transport them to this island, but Gabriel was willing to do it. If there was a time and a place to request a favor from the World Nobles, this was it. Unfortunately, the World Nobles looked at him as if he was crazy. They showed no interest in telling him about their plans. To them it did not matter if he helped them come all the way here from the Holy Land. In their eyes he was nothing more than a peasant. A tool ready to be used by them at any time and any place.

The fact that he even had the nerve to ask such a question upset them. Gabriel bit his tongue and looked away from them.

"Vice-Admiral, please do not stick your nose in their affairs. It is need to know business. If the World Nobles have yet to tell you about their plans, then it simply means that they do not wish for you to know about it." Helena spoke harshly to the Vice-Admiral, only upsetting him more.

"Yes, please forgive me. I will keep my mouth shut about that subject." Gabriel sincerely apologized and bowed his head to the group.

"Make sure that you do." Helena nodded her head and focused her attention back onto Damien.

"So father, which one of the slaves do you believe will win the final round?" Charlotte inquired.

"Is it not obvious, Charlotte? If I were betting money on the fight, I would bet it all on the Fishman." Charles answered with a sly grin. "Back in the pit, that particular Fishman is infamous for his brutality and cruelty towards his opponents, especially if they are humans. I believe he goes by the nickname…Jaw. One time he tore apart his opponents using his teeth alone since his arms and legs were shackled as a handicap."

"I see…so that other slave of yours does not stand a chance." Damien nodded his head.

"No he does not. But it does not matter which one of them wins this fight. In the end, I will kill the both of them by the end of today. They have outlived their usefulness." Charles smiled menacingly, earning a small grimace from Gabriel in response.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! Also there are still plenty of spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Taken by me :D**

 **First Mate-Taken by me also :D**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-?**

 **Marksman-?**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-?**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-?**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	5. The Final Round! Fight!

**The Final Round! Fight!**

* * *

It was finally time. After a dreadful hour long wait, it was finally time for the third and final match for the tournament to begin. The winners of the two previous rounds, Raymond Everett and Jaw, stood in the center of the ring, merely a few feet away from each other. The crowd were already on their feet, cheering loudly for the two combatants. However, they were mostly cheering for Jaw. Since he easily dominated the second round of the tournament, they figured that his victory was already assured. Raymond expressed his annoyance by crossing his arms over his chest, mumbling quietly to himself about how he planned to show the crowd how strong he truly was.

Now he wasn't underestimating Jaw's strength or anything. It was just that he was more confident in his own strength. And after the confrontation he had with the Fishman an hour ago, he had planned to shock him and the entire audience by defeating him. He could already picture it. He would be standing over the beaten body of Jaw, raising his arms into the air, the crowd constantly chanting his name. It was going to be marvelous.

Jaw on the other hand had other plans for the match. He wasn't planning on going easy on his opponent for a good chance to warm up. He was planning on ending the match as quickly and painfully as possible. He didn't care if his opponent was a slave just like him. He wasn't going to show any mercy towards anyone that dared to get in his way of victory. He was beginning to get annoyed on how long it was taking for the announcer to start the final match already. If something wasn't done soon, then he would just have to take matters into his own hands and start the match himself.

"I hope you're ready." Raymond called out Jaw, a confident smile was plastered on the man's face. It rather irritated Jaw seeing the man smile like that. Did he not understand the situation the both of them were in? It didn't matter which one of them won the match. In the end the World Nobles would be the true winners since they would be awarded with the devil fruit.

What would the slaves be awarded with for their efforts? The answer was rather simple. It was nothing. The slaves wouldn't be given anything for all of their hard work. Since they were slaves, belongings of the World Nobles, it was only naturally that they did anything commanded of them without compensation. Since that was truly the case, why was Raymond trying so hard to win this thing?

Now that Jaw thought about it. Why was he trying so hard to win the match? If it didn't matter which one of them won the match, why not just surrender already and get everything over with? Was it fear out of failing the World Nobles? Yes, but that was only a small part of the equation. There was something else driving him to fight.

Jaw looked back and forth between his hands and Raymond. Raymond simply stood there and grinned at him. An aura of confidence emitted from his body. It was at that moment that Jaw realized why he was going to fight. It was pride. Pride was driving him to fight today. He had a lot of pride despite being a slave. He refused to allow another human to defeat him.

"You know; you never did give me a reply to my request yesterday." Raymond reminded the Fishman.

Jaw blinked a few times in response as he thought back as to what Raymond could have been possibly talking about. It didn't take him long to remember the request that the young slave boy had made yesterday. It all had happened after Raymond's "conversation" with Vice-Admiral Gabriel Matthews. The young slave called out to Jaw and requested for him to join and assist him with his attempts to escape from the World Nobles on this exact day. Having considered the request to be very outrageous, Jaw simply paid Raymond no heed and ignored him. Now it wasn't impossible to escape from the World Nobles. Many people have done so, but only a few have ever succeeded.

Jaw believed that Raymond and him would never become the few that have succeeded. The World Nobles were accompanied by a Vice-Admiral with a large marine battleship and also two elite officers of the Valentine Family. Fighting their way out of this situation would be impossible. And besides, Jaw didn't have a death wish. Even if by some miracle that the two of them even managed to escape from the World Nobles, they would be hunted down for the rest of their lives. However, that would only be an inconvenience to Raymond. Jaw could just simply remain underwater for the rest of his life and be perfectly fine.

Raymond on the other hand would have to spend every waking moment looking over his shoulder, wondering when the World Nobles would be coming after him. The simple thought of that situation occurring brought a small smile to the Fishman's face.

"What are you smiling about over there? Have you made your decision? You've had plenty of time to think about it." Raymond informed Jaw.

"During your time in the pit, how many times have you hit your head?" Jaw suddenly asked him.

Raymond realized what the Fishman was getting at and snapped at him. "What's that supposed to mean, huh?! Do you think I'm stupid or something?"

"Yes. I think you're very stupid. I don't know what kind of ridiculous plan you have in mind in order to escape from here today. But let me be the first one to tell you that it will not work." Jaw shook his head. "These slave collars around our necks will be the deaths of us if we're not careful. I don't know about you, but I have no intention of dying today."

"Neither do I." Raymond looked up to the sky, enjoying the view of the birds and the clouds occupying it at the moment. It had been years since he had seen the sky. He wanted to enjoy his time seeing such a magnificent sight for the rest of his life. "My plan will work. But I will need some help of course. That's where you come in."

"No." Jaw refused.

"Oh come on! Don't be like that! This is your one and last chance to be free! You should take caution into the wind and just go with it!" Raymond said.

"For the last time…no! You're an idiot and you're going to get yourself killed! I would much rather that I not associate myself with you!"

"I see…so that's how it's going to be huh?" Raymond looked down to the ground, his lips curved downward into a frown after having been refused again. He had not informed the Fishman of this yet, but he was in fact a crucial part of the escape plan. If Raymond could not convince him to join him in his efforts to escape, then all would be lost.

"That's right. You had best stop with your foolish attempts to escape." Jaw nodded his head, feeling no concern nor remorse for crushing Raymond's dream of escaping from the World Nobles. He didn't really want to have to be the one to do it. But it needed to happen sooner or later.

"Okay, tell you what. How about we make a wager?" Raymond looked up from the ground and smirked. "If I manage to defeat you in this match, then you have to help me escape from this island and join my pirate crew as the First Mate."

"Join your pirate crew?" Jaw's nostrils flared and his eyes went wide. He couldn't believe the nonsense that he was hearing from Raymond. Why would he want to escape from the World Nobles and then run the risk of being captured again by becoming a pirate? It just didn't make any sense to him at all. Now he felt even better turning down his request. Getting involved with an idiot like him was certainly only going to bring him nothing but trouble. But since it was such a stupid request and that it was never going to come true in the first place, Jaw decided to humor him. "What do I get if I win this match?"

"Well, I've noticed that you harbor an immense hatred towards the human race. And you seemed to have been holding yourself back from directly killing the competitors in the second round yourself." Raymond began as he looked onward, attempting to come up with something that the Fishman could possibly want as a prize. "I got it! If you win this match, I will let you kill me!"

"Kill you?" Jaw tilted his head to the side in confusion. This had been the first time that he had seen someone willingly put their life on the line like this.

"That's right. If you win this match, I will let you kill me. You can do whatever you want. Strangle me, break my neck, drown me, snap me in half, feed me to the sharks, rip to shreds with those sharp teeth of yours…" Raymond listed off the ways that Jaw could kill him.

"I don't understand. Why are you going so far? You do understand that your chances of victory, let alone escape are practically zero, right?" Jaw inquired.

"Probably…but I don't know that until I try. This is my last chance to escape from the World Nobles. I'm going to put my everything into ensuring that this plan works. I need you for that plan, Jaw. If I have to beat you down into submission, then I will do it." Raymond stated, the fire of determination in his eyes burned brightly. Jaw found it difficult to even look the young slave in the eyes anymore. It had been years since he had seen anymore with eyes like that.

Hell, even he had eyes like that in the past. But now those eyes of his had dimmed out and gone cold. He felt ashamed that he even allowed his eyes to burn out. It was no wonder he couldn't look Raymond in the eyes anymore.

"I'm throwing caution into the wind. This is it for me, Jaw. I'm going all in." Raymond took an offensive stance and smirked. "I'm going to come at you with everything that I've got. So are you going to accept the terms of this match or not?"

"…Seven minutes." Jaw suddenly announced.

"What?" Raymond lowered his guard.

"Once this match starts, I will be giving you seven minutes to defeat me. There are three ways to do this. One, knock me out of the ring and win by ring out. Two, knock me unconscious. And three, survive against me for seven minutes." Jaw informed him. "If you fail to accomplish any of those, then you lose. And then I will kill you."

"I see…" Raymond's had a solemn expression on his face. He knew that the Fishmen was being serious.

"However, if you win, I will do as you say. I will help you escape from the World Nobles and join your pirate crew as the First Mate." Jaw said.

"You're not going to regret this decision." Raymond said, honestly surprised that he had managed to convince the Fishman to accept the terms of the match. Now all he had to do was win the match. If he could accomplish that small task, then his freedom was guaranteed.

"Oh I know I won't. I'm going to come at you with everything that I've got. If you fail to defeat me, then it just means that you were never meant to be free ever again." Jaw warned him, taking an offensive stance himself. The audience then grew silent as the intense atmosphere surrounding the two slaves expanded out into the stands. Eventually the announcer regained his composure after nearly being suffocated by the atmosphere and then he gave the signal for the match to begin.

Almost immediately, Jaw kicked off the ground and rushed towards Raymond, ramming his forearm against the man's face. Raymond grimaced in pain and flew back all the way to the edge of the ring. He slowly looked over his shoulder and expressed a brief moment of shock at the sight of the sharks swimming around that area down below, making a mental note to make sure that he didn't fall down there. He then brought his hand to his forehead and then looked to see his bloody palm. The attack he received moments ago had already caused him to bleed. That alone brought a smirk to Raymond's face. He knew that Jaw was serious when he said that he would be coming at him with everything he had for the next seven minutes.

Well Raymond was going to do the exact same. He didn't plan on disappointing the Fishman by not going all out as well. Once he mustered up his resolve, he broke out into a sprint and charged the Fishman, throwing a spinning back kick at him once within range. Jaw lounged forward, blocked the kick with his forearm, and then swept at Raymond's other leg with his own. During Raymond's fall, Jaw followed up with an elbow drop in an attempt to crush him between his elbow and the ring. However, upon landing on his back, Raymond kicked up and jumped away from the Fishman at the last second. He watched and cringed at the sight of that section of the pavement cracking and crumbling to pieces once Jaw's elbow make contact with it.

He unconsciously brought his hand up to his stomach, his face growing pale at the thought of that becoming him had he not evaded the attack on time. Jaw returned to a standing position and this time rushed towards Raymond. Raymond remained on the offensive and attacked first, he readied himself and performed a barrage of kicks. All which were blocked by Jaw's swift hand movements. Jaw soon blocked another kick and created an opening in Raymond's defense, landing a swift punch to the young man's stomach, knocking him further down the ring.

Raymond quickly closed the distance between them, jumping into the air and attacking the Fishman with another barrage of kicks. Jaw crossed his arms in front of him and stood his ground, blocking all of the kicks until gravity took its course and forced Raymond back onto the floor. But he refused to stop there. Raymond dropped down to his hands and feet, spinning one leg out in an attempt to sweep the Fishman off his feet. His foot connected against the Fishman's leg, but the overall weight difference between the two of them disrupted his plan. Jaw grimaced after having being kicked, but he still stood strong. His center of gravity was not disrupted.

Jaw looked down to Raymond and raised his fist, preparing to pummel him into the ground. Raymond quickly balanced himself on his hands and used them to spring himself upwards, delivering a brutal blow to the Fishman's face with both feet. Jaw staggered back and clutched his face, giving Raymond the opportunity that he needed. Raymond jumped into the air, spun around, and landed another kick across the Fishman's face. Jaw shook off the damage and went in for another punch while Raymond went in for another kick. Both of these respective attacks connected and the two of them were knocked back away from each other.

Jaw was the first one to regain his balance after being knocked back. He rushed ahead and charged horns-first, intending to impale Raymond through his torso. Raymond exclaimed at the sight and quickly jumped over him, landing a few quick kicks across the Fishman's back in the process. Jaw instantly turned around and engaged Raymond in close combat once again. All of the Fishman's punches were immediately blocked, deflected, and evaded at certain points until Raymond forced him back with an elbow strike to his chest.

The Fishman quickly secreted water from his webbed hands and tossed them towards Raymond. The black haired man dodged the droplets of water as he closed the distance between the two of them. If he had not seen Jaw use water in the last round, he would have allowed them to touch him. Boy wouldn't that have been a mistake on his part. Upon reaching the Fishman, Raymond threw more punches, which were all blocked. Jaw then attempted to sweep Raymond's feet again to knock him to the ground. But the young slave was prepared for that this time.

Raymond jumped over Jaw to evade the leg sweep. After landing he struck the back of Jaw's head with an elbow. He then ducked down after Jaw tried to repay the favor with an elbow strike of his own. Raymond then spun around on one hand and delivered heel kick to the Fishman's kidney. Blood immediately spurted Jaw's mouth after receiving the unexpected attack from Raymond. But unfortunately it didn't end there. Raymond knew how strong Fishmen were and he wasn't going to stop simply because there was a little blood.

Raymond reached his arms around the back of Jaw's head, interlocking his hands to prevent the Fishman from escaping. He then jumped up and pulled the Fishman's face into his knee several times before finally letting him go to knock him back with a finishing spinning back kick to the stomach.

Jaw proceeded to go into a coughing fit once Raymond's barrage had finished. Blood soaked onto the pavement next to his feet. The sight of his blood made his eyes go wide with rage. It had been some time since anyone could manage to make him bleed. He wasn't going to allow Raymond to get away with that. Letting out a loud roar of anger, the Fishman charged at Raymond and threw consecutive punches aiming for his face. Raymond dodged all of the punches and then the two combatants exchanged blows with each other, once again knocking each other back away from one another.

The two of them close the distance and engage each other in combat. Raymond dodged a punch from Jaw and then forced the Fishman down onto one knee after striking the back of his leg. He then unleashed a flurry of kicks across the Fishman's torso until his foot was finally caught within the palm of Jaw's hand. With one might throw, Raymond was flung across the ring until he eventually fell over the edge. A shark jumped out from the water and attempted to swallow the falling man whole. But the shark was denied its meal as Raymond kicked off the shark's face and used it as a trampoline and launch himself back into the ring.

Raymond brought his hand up to his chest and let out a sigh of relief. He had just almost been defeated by the Fishman by the way of ring out. If that shark hadn't jumped out of the water the way it did, he would have lost and become shark food. He quickly regained his composure and reentered his way into the fight. He closed the distance between him and his opponent within seconds and he attacked the Fishman with a series of kicks and occasional punches.

All of his attacks were blocked and or deflected by Jaw's hands. Once the Fishman found a hole in Raymond's defense again, he landed five consecutive blows to the human. The first two were to his shoulders, the other two were to his legs, and the final blow was to his stomach. Raymond was forced back and he breathed heavily. He was hunched forward and his arms were hanging down to his sides. He even found it difficult to stand.

He looked ahead to see Jaw standing there. He was breathing heavily as well, but he seemed to be in a better shape that Raymond was. Once he felt some feeling back into his arms and legs again, he rushed at the Fishman again to finish the fight. The two of them face each other and exchange a series of blows, putting everything that they had into their attacks to defeat one another. Raymond gained the upper hand in the fight and struck a swift blow against Jaw's chin with a swift uppercut.

He then followed up with another kick that forced the Fishman back a few feet. He chased Jaw down and leaped into the air, bringing his heel down towards the Fishman's head. Unfortunately, his kick was blocked. So he resorted to using his free leg to kick Jaw's chest and propel himself away from him. But his leg caught in the process and he was pulled into Jaw's next attack, which was a palm strike against his face. Jaw released his hold on Raymond's foot and he watched in amusement as the young slave sprawled violently across the ground before eventually coming to a stop in the center of the ring. Jaw then leaped up into the air and brought his fist down onto the ground, releasing a shock wave through the ring which completely destroyed the pavement, sending the rocks and Raymond into the air.

After feeling a sharp pain through his body from the shock wave, Raymond opened his eyes to see the blue sky. He blinked in confusion as to why he was looking up at the sky in that exact moment. He looked around to see that there were also chunks of rock accompanying him for some odd reason. He turned his body around and his eyes widened at the sight of entire coliseum getting farther and farther away as the seconds passed. And it was that moment that Raymond realized that he had been launched into the air. His entire body began to tremble and his face went pale. It was embarrassing for him to admit it to anyone, but Raymond suffered from a case of Acrophobia. An extreme fear of heights.

Or at least he suffered from a variant of that fear. Going up wasn't the probably for him. It was going down that frightened him beyond all belief. Eventually gravity was going to take its course and he was going to plummet down into the ring. He could picture it now. His body would be as flat as a pancake by the end of this scenario. But if he was going to go down. Then he had planned on taking Jaw with him since the Fishman placed him in this situation.

Raymond regained his composure and kicked the rocks down towards Jaw, launching them at incredible speeds. Jaw remained still and crossed his arms in front of him, blocking the barrage of rocks that bombarded him. Eventually the bombardment stopped and the Fishman was concealed in a plume of dust. Meanwhile gravity finally took its course and Raymond was plummeting towards the ground, screaming his head off and flailing around violently. Fortunately, he was saved from the cruel fate of plummeting to his death. Although his savior wasn't exactly the person he was expecting.

Jaw jumped out from the plume of dust and grabbed a hold of Raymond's neck before he could hit the ground. Just when the young man planned to thank the Fishman for saving his life, he was immediately reminded that the two of them were still in the middle of a fight. The Fishman slammed him into the ground and pinned him there. He then pulled back his fist and swung it downward with all his strength. This was it. This final punch was going to end the entire match.

That was going to be the case until Jaw suddenly stopped his punch inches away from Raymond's face. Raymond opened his eyes after a moment of feeling no pain and he witnessed the pained expression on the face of the Fishman.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop your attack?" Raymond suddenly asked, having no clue as to why the Fishman would put a stop to the match like this.

"…Are you an idiot or something? Can't you tell that you've won this match?" Jaw responded before sighing heavily in annoyance. Raymond on the other hand couldn't understand as to what the Fishman was talking about. From his perspective, Jaw was the one who was winning the match until he suddenly stopped his punch. Even in their current position it was clear as to which one of them was winning.

Raymond racked his brain trying to figure out how he could have somehow won the match. Once he thought back to the terms the two of them had set up before starting the match, it immediately became clear to him. The time limit. Before the start of the match, Jaw gave Raymond seven minutes to defeat him by three different ways. Ring out, knock out, or by surviving the match until the time limit was up. Through some force of luck, Raymond managed to survive until the seven-minute time limit was up.

"Whoa, you're right. It has been seven minutes." Raymond muttered, having long forgotten about that last rule until now. He was so focused on the fight that he was truly aiming for beating the Fishman by knock out.

"You lucky son of a bitch. You managed to win only by a hairs breadth." Jaw released his hold on Raymond's neck and scowled. He couldn't believe that the human managed to last seven minutes against him. Now he had no other choice than to honor his agreement with Raymond. He was going to help him escape from the World Nobles and join his pirate crew as the First Mate.

"A win is still a win. It doesn't matter how you do it." Raymond chuckled.

"I hope you know what you're doing. If our escape attempt fails, I'm going to kill you before they kill us." Jaw warned Raymond before he decided to collapse onto the ground to sell his injuries. The crowd suddenly grew silent. They were not expecting the crowd favorite to suddenly go down.

Taking advantage of the situation, Raymond placed his foot on the back of Jaw and he raised his fists into the air while letting out a victory cry. All of the people in the audience exchanged confused glances with one another before they give in and began to cheer for Raymond. The announcer regained his composure after watching the match and he proclaimed Raymond as the winner and new champion of the tournament.

"Oh yeah! Do you hear those cheers? They love me!" Raymond happily pumped his fists into the air, marveling in the sounds of the audience continuously cheering his name.

"Don't push your luck!" Jaw growled furiously, trying to suppress his urge to stand up and continue with the match altogether. He hated being in that humiliating position, but he had to honor the terms of the agreement.

Meanwhile in the VIP room, the World Nobles remained in their chairs with stern expressions on their faces. They had expected the Fishman to win the match, not Raymond. Overall it didn't matter which one of them was victorious, but they were not satisfied with such lukewarm results. They had expected more blood and gore. It upset them that their expectations had been denied. Oh well, at least they would be awarded with their prized devil fruit soon enough. And once they had what they needed, they would discard their slaves and move on to the next phase of their plans.

"What a disappointing match." Saint Charles Flameheart reclined in his chair and heaved a sigh of annoyance. "I am glad that I am discarding those two slaves of mine. They no longer have what it takes to entertain me any further."

"Good riddance then. If we had bet any money on that match like the peasants have, I would have been infuriated to have lost it." Saint Charlotte Flameheart commented.

"What do you think that was all about, Hayes?" Helena whispered to her older brother, sensing that something was amiss about the way the match had ended. She had expected that the slaves were planning something judging by the conversation the two of them had in the center of the ring before the start of the match. But she disregarded it since she figured that it was just uninteresting banter between the two of them. But now after seeing the suspicious way the match had ended, she was certain that she slaves were up to no good.

Hayes hummed to himself for a moment as he looked between the slaves and his younger sister. He soon focused his sights directly on Helena and responded, "I have no clue."

Helena stared at her older brother with a deadpanned expression. After seeing how long it took him to give such a useless answer in response to her question, she contemplated unsheathing her sword and attacking him for wasting her precious time. However, upon realizing that such an action would only upset the World Nobles, she regained her composure and decided to ignore her brother. Her attention was once again drawn to the ring where the announcer had finished bringing Raymond the special prize.

Raymond immediately opened the treasure box, pulled out the devil fruit, and smiled. He had done it. He said that he was going to win the tournament and he had done exactly that. His eyes sparkled at the sight of the red devil fruit within his hands. He could already feel an ominous sensation coursing through his body just by simply holding onto it. His eyes soon darted away from the devil fruit and up to the VIP box upon hearing a round of applause coming from Charles.

"Well done, slave. Well done. Perhaps you are not so useless after all." Charles ceased with his applause and smirked at Raymond. The entire coliseum grew silent, waiting patiently for the World Noble to continue. "You have done well winning this tournament for your masters. You displayed tremendous strength and fortitude. Now fulfill your duty to me and hand over the devil fruit."

Raymond looked between the devil fruit and Charles for a few moments before responding with a stern, "No way. Are you stupid?"

Everyone within the coliseum exclaimed in shock. None of them were expecting the new crowned champion of the coliseum to refuse a direct order from the World Nobles, especially Charles himself. The World Nobles clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. Veins of anger protruded from his forehead. He could not believe that a mere slave, an object that he owned, dared to humiliate him in front of hundreds of people by refusing a direct order. He wanted to believe that he had misheard that. He wanted to believe that this was all in his imagination and that the slave instead replied with a "yes". Deciding to confirm if this was reality or not, Charles spoke up again.

"What did you just say to me, slave?"

"Are you having trouble hearing?" Raymond tilted his head to the side in confusion. He knew that Charles was getting old and all, but he didn't expect his age to have begun messing with his hearing just yet. "I said no! N-O! NO!" He decided to put more emphasis on the word. Everyone within the coliseum exclaimed in horror again in response. Now that he chose to say those words again, they knew that his fate was sealed. Hardly anyone ever opposed the World Nobles and got away with it.

Charles brought his hand up to his head and chuckled silently for a moment. He was trying to process everything that had just happened a few moments ago. Once that was done, his entire face went red before he shouted, "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A SLAVE! AN OBJECT THAT I OWN AND USE FOR MY OWN BENEFIT! THE FACT THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN REFUSE AN ORDER FROM ME IS UNFORGIVABLE!"

"You need to quiet down, old man. Your blood pressure is going to raise through the roof if you keep on shouting like that. Perhaps you should take a seat." Raymond sarcastically said, trying his best to hold back a chuckle. He had never seen Charles act that way towards anyone before, so it was rather a pleasing sight to behold. "Also, your shouting is going to ruin this awesome moment when I take a bite of this devil fruit. So shut up and watch."

"DO NOT EAT THAT DEVIL FRUIT! IT BELONGS TO ME AND ME ALONE! IF YOU TAKE A BITE OF THAT DEVIL FRUIT, YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET IT!" Charles shouted.

"Yeah, sure I will." Raymond dismissed the World Noble's words and took a bite of the devil fruit. Almost immediately, as predicted by the World Noble, Raymond regretted taking a bite of the devil fruit. He had forgotten about the hard, spiked shell that the devil fruit possessed. So upon swallowing it, the spikes of the devil fruit scratched and tore at his throat on the way down to his stomach.

"Ah, he took a bite of the devil fruit." Hayes nonchalantly pointed out, earning a sharp glare from Helena. The blonde haired man ignored the glare and kept his focus on the slave currently coughing and choking in the middle of the ring. Eventually Raymond ceased, caught his breath, and then returned to his feet and look at the glaring World Noble.

"Well...it looks like the power of that mysterious devil fruit belongs to me now." Raymond flicked off Charles, hoping to piss him off even further. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to pull off my dramatic escape..." He brought his hands up to the chains of his slave collar and he tugged it with all of his might, removing the chain from the collar around his neck. Immediately after that, the clock for the explosives within the collar began to tick.

 _Sixty seconds._

"What are you thinking you idiot?!" Jaw snapped at Raymond and stood to his feet, taking a few steps back away from him. "Why would you go and rip off the chains to your explosive collar? Don't you know what's going to happen next?!"

 _Fifty seconds._

"What are you acting so surprised for? They were going to set off the explosive collar anyway. I just simply decided to spare them the trouble and do it myself." Raymond shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't all that of a big deal. "Oh yeah, you might want to get a little farther back away from me. I think you're still within range of the explosion."

 _Forty seconds._

"You think?" Jaw shouted before he ran all the way over to the other side of the ring. Once he was in the clear, he turned around and looked to Raymond, wanting to see how the young slave planned to escape from this situation with his head intact. If everything worked out in their favor, then perhaps they would be able to escape since Raymond was now a devil fruit user. He didn't know what powers the man would receive after consuming the devil fruit, but if luck was on their side, it would be something useful.

 _Thirty seconds._

While everyone within the stands were beginning to panic and shield their eyes from the explosion that was imminent to happen, Raymond remained in the center of the ring with his arms crossed over his chest, not making a single attempt to remove the collar from around his neck. He had about fifteen seconds left until the collar exploded and blew his head right off his shoulders. But thanks to having consumed the devil fruit about a minute ago, he wasn't worried about that anymore. He didn't know what kind of power he would receive, but he was confident that it was going to help him. Today was the day. Today was his day. He was finally going to escape from the World Nobles and there was nothing that could stand in his way.

 _Twenty seconds._

He looked up to the VIP room and stared into the infuriated eyes of Charles. For far too long he had wanted to get his vengeance on that man and the entirety of the World Nobles. He had formulated dozens of plans throughout his years of slavery, but none of them could have hoped to have come to fruition like this one. It was almost disappointing that he couldn't use this chance to use his newfound powers on him. But it was okay. Raymond was somewhat of a patient man. It had taken him years to escape from slavery. So he didn't mind waiting a few more years to exact his revenge.

 _Ten seconds._

He could already picture it. He would gather up millions of subordinates under his rule and attack the Holy Land. Surely the marines and the World Government would dare to stand in his way, but he didn't care. He would annihilate them as well as the World Nobles. Nothing could stand in his way now. The wheels had already been set in motion. His time will come. The end of the world as the people know it will come. Raymond closed his eyes and smiled, soon getting consumed by the explosion set off by the explosive collar around his neck.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! Also there are still plenty of spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Taken by me :D**

 **First Mate-Taken by me also :D**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-?**

 **Marksman-?**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-?**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-?**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	6. The Grand Escape!

**The Grand Escape!**

* * *

The coliseum was in a state of complete silence. A lot of shocking and unbelievable events had occurred right before their eyes in such a short span of time. First was the match between Raymond Everett and the Fighting Fish Fishman, Jaw. It was a spectacular match that kept the people of the audience on the edge of their seats for the entire time. Everyone had their hopes set on the Fishman to win the match. Imagine how shell shocked they were once their hopes and expectations had been crushed. The fan favorite was defeated by a mere human.

Some members of the audience were outraged by the result of the match, contemplating about rioting and getting their money back. But since the World Nobles were in the coliseum, they regained their composure and decided against it. The second event that shocked the audience was when Raymond, the winner of the tournament and new crowned champion, refused an order from the World Noble, Saint Charles Flameheart to give the devil fruit to him. It was unthinkable for a mere slave, an object, a tool, a plaything for the World Nobles to stubbornly refuse a direct order. Everyone within the coliseum were on their feet by that point. They were ready to run away from the area at a moment's notice as to avoid the danger of being near an angered World Noble.

When Raymond antagonized the World Noble and took a bite of the devil fruit, they knew that the slave's fate was sealed. Hardly anyone angered the World Nobles and got away with it. The audience knew that in a few short moments the slave would be dead. However, they were not expecting the slave to forcibly remove the chains on the explosive collar around his neck. The moment it was removed; the clock began to tick. Everyone knew that the slave now had only sixty seconds to live. Some members in the audience began to panic and rushed towards the exits, unknowing of how large the blast radius of the explosion would be. The last thing they wanted was to get caught up in an explosion and die.

Fortunately for them they were not anywhere near the blast radius. Once the explosive collar went off, the slave's body was engulfed in the explosion. Members of the audience shielded their eyes and screamed at the sight. The slave was dead. There was no doubt about that at all. No one could possibly survive an explosion like that from such close range. Or at least so the thought.

Everyone was shocked to see that once the smoke cleared, Raymond was still standing in the middle of the ring; alive. His body was charred black and smoke still emitted from his body. But other than that, he seemed perfectly fine. Raymond stared blankly off into space before his attention was brought to his hands. He patted himself down a few times, making sure that he was still alive and well. His hands traveled up his body and made their way up to his neck. He felt around for the explosive collar around his neck.

It was gone. The explosive collar was really gone. The one thing that kept him bound to a life of pain and misery was now gone forever. There were no words that could even begin to express the happiness that he felt at the moment. Tears of happiness uncontrollably flowed from his eyes. He was so overwhelmed with joy that he wrapped his arms around himself as an attempt to keep his body from trembling. But it didn't work. There was no way that it could work.

He had done it. He had finally done it. He was free. He was free from the oppression of the World Nobles. He could now do whatever he wanted. He was now one step closer to achieving his dream of exacting his much desired revenge against the dreadful World Nobles. He could see it now. The fated day when the Holy Land would burn down to the ground after the execution of every single last World Noble.

While Raymond was menacingly daydreaming about the day he would exact his revenge, everyone else within the coliseum were now in a state of shock and awe. It was hard to fathom how the young man could have possibly survived that explosion in one piece. They were expecting his head to get blown clean off his shoulders. But there he stood, completely unharmed. Such an unforeseen sight greatly angered the World Nobles up in the VIP box.

Saint Charles Flameheart was now seething with rage. His most trusted tactic of punishment had been rendered useless. The slave that dared to defy him was still standing tall, celebrating the fact that he was still alive and well. Charles' pride could not allow such a complete mockery to continue for much longer. The pride and honor of the World Nobles was at stake. If word got out that his slave managed to survive and escape from under his nose, he would become a laughing stock of the Holy Land. He would be forever shamed until he found some method of redemption.

The first thing he needed to take care of was his slave. The young man had the gall to refuse a direct order from him and then proceed to humiliate him further by eating the prized devil fruit that he had been searching for months. This outrage could ever be tolerated or forgiven. The only form of punishment suitable for this situation was death. The World Noble did not plan on making it quick either. It was going to be as slow and painful as possible. He was going to torture Raymond for days on end until the young slave's will was completely broken. Only after that would Charles consider granting him the sweet release of death. But it was not likely.

"Ah…it feels so good to no longer have that stupid explosive collar around my neck anymore." Raymond stretched his neck from side to side, getting the cricks out of it. "Well…nothing's keeping me here on this island anymore. I guess it's time for me to make my grand escape."

After hearing the daring proclamation, Jaw snapped out of his stunned trance and snapped at the young slave. "Wait a minute! Where do you think you're going? We had a deal didn't we? How am I going to get out of here with this slave collar around my neck?"

"You're a Fishman aren't you? Rip that thing off your neck or something. It should be possible for someone of your strength." Raymond commented.

"Are you stupid? If I could do something like that, I would have done it by now!" Jaw angrily retorted. He knew that if he removed the explosive collar from his neck without the key, it would have immediately exploded in his hands. Unlike Raymond over there, he didn't have a devil fruit that could protect him from the explosion.

"I see. Well in that case, I guess you're going to need this." Raymond rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a single key. He smiled at the Fishman and tossed it over to him. "That's the key to the explosive collars. Hurry up and take it off."

"What?" Jaw caught the key and stared blankly at it. It couldn't be that easy right? There was no way that the literal key to his freedom was within the pocket of Raymond the entire time. "Have…have you had this key in your pocket the entire time?"

"The entire time?" Raymond folded his arms over his chest and stared up to the sky with a thoughtful expression on his face. "It really depends on your definition of the meaning. I mean I've had that key in my possession for about two days now. But I've only recently had it in my pocket for about two…maybe three hours."

Veins of anger protruded from Jaw's face after hearing Raymond's rambling. If he truly had the key to their freedom the entire time, then why didn't he use it to free them hours ago. Jaw had half a mind to free himself from the explosive collar and then outright abandon the man to his own demise. He had much better things to do than to become the first mate of some second rate pirate crew. But since he was a man of his word, he dismissed the idea and simply used the key in his hand to remove the collar from around his neck. Seeing that now both of his slaves were free from their collars, Charles' face turned to a deep shade of red.

"So what's the escape plan?" Jaw asked before he tossed the explosive collar into the water.

"The water." Raymond quickly replied. "The water in this coliseum has to lead somewhere, right? I'm thinking some kind of waterway or sewer. Either way, it could potentially lead to the sea. That's our destination."

"The sea huh?" Jaw looked over the edge of the ring and stared down to the shark infested waters down below. He then began to daydream about returning to the ocean. It was something that he desired for years during his captivity. And now he was getting the chance to achieve that dream of his. He wasn't planning on wasting it.

"Hayes…Helena…" Charles softly and yet angrily called out to his bodyguards. The blonde haired bodyguards immediately appeared to his side with solemn expressions on their faces. The two of them already had an idea as to what the World Noble was going to order them to do, but they still needed confirmation before springing into action. "I want you to capture them alive. But make sure that you injure them so badly that they cannot put up any further resistance against us."

"Yes sir! At once, sir!" Hayes and Helena nodded their heads in unison, signifying that they clearly understood their orders. With that in mind, the two of them jumped out from the VIP box and landed safely on the other side of the ring. Raymond couldn't help but inwardly congratulate them on their impressive leg strength. A leap from that far clearly wasn't an easy task to an average person.

"Oh, so now you two have come out to play have you?" Raymond called out to the Valentine siblings. "What did the two of you think about my amazing ability to survive that explosion?"

Hayes and Helena remained silent as they placed their hands on the handles of their respective rapiers. Although intimidated by this, Raymond nonetheless continued to speak.

"Although I hate to admit it, I was frightened on whether or not the devil fruit would be able to provide me with powers to survive the explosion. I guess my hunch was correct and I was worried for nothing."

"Shut your mouth worm!" Helena roared, angrily unsheathing her sword. "Or else I will use Clovis here to cut out your tongue!"

"Clovis? Are you talking about your sword? You named your sword?" Raymond stared at Helena with arched eyebrows.

"You really should stop talking." Hayes called out to Raymond while unsheathing his sword as well. "Give up quietly. There is nowhere for you to escape to. If you resist, I will use Martel to incapacitate you." He spoke with a menacing tone of voice. Shivers trembled down the spines of both Raymond and Jaw. The two of them could sense the amount of killing intent exerting from the bodies of the Valentine siblings. They knew that they were serious.

They had been ordered by the World Nobles to capture them. Failure was not an option for them. It was either success or death. The atmosphere within the entire coliseum grew tense as the Valentine siblings stared down the now freed slaves. No one dared to move or make a sound in this kind of atmosphere, unless they run the risk of somehow being killed themselves.

Even Raymond found it difficult to make a move in this situation. He knew that his actions would incur the wrath of the World Noble and that people would be sent in after him. But he wasn't expecting those people to be the Valentine siblings. He had initially expected the two of them to remain by the World Nobles' side while the means were sent in to deal with them. This single set back could potentially ruin his escape plan.

He needed to think fast. His plan was to escape into the water and use the waterways to make his way out into the ocean. But there were large, iron gates blocking passage into the waterways and he wasn't certain that Jaw could take them down with just a single shot. What he needed was a distraction. Something big that could provide Jaw enough time to tear down the gates and give them an escape route to the ocean. He racked his brain trying to think of something good. Taking a hostage? No, there was no one of enough importance nearby that could be used as a hostage.

Threatening them? Threatening them could potentially work, but he needed something good to threaten them with. The Valentine siblings were people far stronger than him at the moment. If he made one mistake, it could cost him his life. It was at that moment that he remembered something very important. He had just consumed some mysterious devil fruit moments ago. No one was aware of what destructive powers that the devil fruit possessed. If he could distract them with that information alone, perhaps he could escape in one piece.

Finding the resolve to put his plan into motion, Raymond took a step forward and extended his arm out in front of him. "Stop right there you two! If you take another step near us, I will unleash my destructive powers against you and the people of this coliseum!" He loudly announced.

Even though it was for a single moment, Hayes and Helena hesitated. The Valentine siblings stopped in their tracks and exchanged confused glances with one another. They remembered that Raymond had taken a bite of the mysterious devil fruit and that they were unaware of its powers. However, they refused to allow that to stop them. They were ordered by the World Nobles to capture and incapacitate the freed slaves. It did not matter what sort of abilities or powers that they possessed. Orders were orders. They were going to fulfill them no matter what.

This was not their first time encountering someone with devil fruit abilities. They understood how they worked and how to deal with them. It did not matter what power that Raymond now possessed. The siblings did not believe that he was knowledgeable enough to know how to use his powers automatically. They hypothesized that he managed to survive the explosive collar explosion was because of some automatic defense mechanism of the devil fruit. So with that, the siblings ignored the threat and proceeded with their advance towards the two slaves.

"Alright! You've been warned! Take this!" Raymond exclaimed as loud as he could before he thrust his other arm forward, hoping for the best. Everyone within the audience began to panic and prepared to flee for their lives, but after realizing that nothing had happened, they all settled down and stared blankly at the ring. Waves of emotion coursed through Raymond's body as silence enveloped the entire coliseum.

Everyone was expecting something big, dramatic, and terrible to happen. And yet, that moment never came. It was a huge letdown and humiliating for Raymond. In a desperate attempt to redeem himself, he continued to make dramatic attack poses, hoping that his devil fruit would activate and attack the Valentine siblings. But again and again, nothing ever happened. The tension in the coliseum had long disappeared and the audience proceeded to point and laugh at Raymond, embarrassing him even further. At this point he had wished that the siblings would just hurry up and kill him to spare him from any further embarrassment.

"Are you done fooling around? Hurry up and use your devil fruit powers already." Jaw ordered, having finally regained his senses after witnessing the embarrassment that is his captain.

"You idiot! Of course I'm not fooling around! I'm being dead serious here!" Raymond looked to the Fishman and snapped at him. "And why are you just standing there? You were supposed to jump into the water and take down the gates to the waterways!"

Jaw's eyes widened upon realizing his fatal mistake. Since he was so distracted by the unusual antics of Raymond, he had forgotten about his job to create an escape route. Should they fail to escape and end up getting captured again because of him, he would have no one to blame but himself for his failure.

"Ah, so that's your plan of escape. Not a bad plan. It possibly would have worked had it not been for us." Hayes mentioned before he and Helena charged towards the two slaves, having had enough of waiting around for something to happen.

"Damn it! Here they come! Hurry up and take down that gate! I will hold them off!" Raymond said before he charged towards the Valentine siblings. He jumped up, performed a few somersaults, and then drove his heel down onto the ground. That section of the pavement was destroyed and shot up into the air, giving him the necessary ammunition to fling towards the approaching enemies with his feet.

"Attack Au Fer: Battement!" Helena took charge and stepped out in front of her brother. With her mighty rapier, Clovis, the blonde haired swordswoman sliced the incoming projectiles to pieces; dashing Raymond's hopes of putting forth a good distraction. Raymond clicked his tongue and prepared himself for whatever the siblings had in store for him next. To his immediate surprise, the only sibling within his line of sight was Helena. Hayes had completely disappeared somewhere.

He quickly looked left. Nothing there. He then quickly looked right. Nothing there either. By process of elimination, the only place left for Hayes to be was up. Unfortunately, after taking a quick glance, the blonde haired swordsman wasn't there either. The correct answer was soon realized once a hand was placed on his shoulder.

Raymond quickly whipped around and threw a punch. Having predicted the attack ahead of time, Hayes easily managed to evade the attack. He then slid past the slave, muttering the words 'I am sorry'. Once the blonde haired swordsman sheathed his sword, a gash appeared diagonally across Raymond's torso, followed by blood splurging out from it. The people of the audience all grimaced at the sight of so much blood leaving Raymond's body, meanwhile Charles on the other hand seemed to enjoy the horrendous view. Now that Raymond was out, all that needed to get taken care of next was none other than Jaw. Or at least that's how it should have been. There was only one problem.

Raymond wasn't down. In spite of getting slashed by a prestigious swordsman like Hayes and being heavily injured, the freed slave wasn't on the ground. Strangely, he simply stood there looking to the wound across his torso. He seemed confused about something. He had been cut and he was bleeding. But for some strange reason he wasn't feeling any pain or discomfort. The only thing he felt was pumped. His adrenaline was pumping and he wished to continue fighting against the Valentine siblings.

Raymond quickly turned around and performed a roundhouse kick, aiming to strike Hayes while his back was turned. The blonde swordsman raised his arm and blocked the kick. There was a brief moment where he grimaced once Raymond's leg made contact with his forearm. He had measured Raymond's strength hours ago and assumed that he did not need to put much strength behind his defense. This proved to be a mistake on his part as he was knocked back over to his younger sister, much to the surprise of her and the World Nobles. Hayes rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and smirked at the sight of the bruise lying there. It was a good case of what goes around, comes around.

He had bruised Raymond's hand earlier and now his forearm was bruised in retaliation. He did not expect Raymond's strength to increase so little in such a short amount of time. There were only a few explanations for the sudden increase in strength. Hayes immediately concluded it to be because of the consumption of the devil fruit.

"Well what do you know. It looks like the slave is a little stronger than we expected." Helena sarcastically commented.

"Only a little." Hayes agreed to the comment with a nod of his head. The two siblings rushed for Raymond again, this time planning to strike him down.

Raymond grinned at the sight of the approaching enemies and he took his fighting stance, preparing to engage the two of them in combat once more. The Valentine siblings attacked the freed slave in unison with a swift barrage of sword thrusts. Raymond was doing his best to evade the attacks, but his speed paled in comparison to theirs. His body and clothes were getting shredded by their respective swords, but once again he was not feeling any pain. It was strange. The more damage he took, the more exhilarated he felt towards the situation.

Occasionally he would throw in a few punches and kicks, but Hayes and Helena would effortlessly avoid his attacks and continue to cut him. Because of their orders from Charles not to kill him, they were only aiming for neutralizing spots such as his knees or shoulders. But once again the man refused to fall. It honestly began to irritate Helena, whom was contemplating simply cutting off Raymond's head to spare them from wasting any more time. The longer they took to deal with a single slave, the more furious Saint Charles was going to get.

The siblings eventually cornered Raymond to the edge of the ring and they went in to restrain him. At that exact moment, a column of water erupted nearby and struck them, knocking them further down to the other side of the thing away from Raymond. The young man looked away from his opponents for a moment and glanced down to the waters where Jaw had finally completed his task of taking down the gates to the waterways. He was shouting out for Raymond to jump down into the water so that they could make their daring escape.

But Raymond didn't want to waste this chance. There was one last thing that he needed to do before he could escape from the island. He looked up to the VIP box and smirked at the angered face of Charles. Oh how long he had waited to see such a face. It was a shame that he couldn't have taken a picture of it to savor such a pleasing moment.

"Well Charles, it's been fun. The years of pain and torture that you put me through have finally been put to an end. But you know how the saying goes, 'when something end, something else begins'." Raymond informed the World Noble with a menacing tone of voice. "My years of pain and torture have hereby ended. But your years of pain and torture have only just begun. Remember this day, Charles. Because you have singlehandedly created the monster, the devil that will drag you World Nobles down to hell where you all belong. Your days of sitting on those thrones of yours are numbered. You all will experience true hell like no one else has ever experienced."

With a malicious grin on his face, Raymond spread his arms out dramatically and continued to make his speech of revenge.

"You are going to act as my messenger! Tell the other World Nobles in the Holy Land of Mariejois, tell the Gorosei of the World Government, tell the Fleet Admiral of the Marines…tell them that I, Raymond Everett, will spend every waking moment making sure that your lives are made into living hell! I am going to bring the entire world down to its very knees! I hope that you'll be prepared for that very day, because I know that I will!"

After he had finished with his speech, he jumped down over the edge of the ring and landed on Jaw's back. He then proceeded to flip everyone the bird before he was carried out through the waterway.

"Damn it! He's getting away! Chase after him already!" Charles shouted at Hayes and Helena. Unfortunately, the siblings were unable to follow that order. The waters were infested with sharks and they were not that great of swimmers. Besides, trying to capture a Fishman when they were in water was practically impossible.

While Charles was still shouting on the top of his lungs about chasing after his slaves, Hayes reached within his pocket and pulled out a Den Den Mushi. He called the World Noble and proceeded to speak once it was answered. "Saint Charles. The slaves are planning on escaping out to the sea using the waterways as an escape route. Have the marines surround all the exits to the waterways and have the marine ship prepared to depart in case that they do escape."

Although he was reluctant to follow the suggestion of his bodyguard, Charles nonetheless complied and ordered for the marines to head into the waterways and intercept the escaping slaves. He then looked to Gabriel and ordered for him to head to the marine ship and have it prepared to depart from the island immediately should by some miracle that the slaves escape. The marines saluted the World Nobles in understanding of his orders before they hurried off to their respected destinations, leaving the World Nobles in the room alone.

The air in the room was tense. Something unthinkable had occurred right before their eyes and they needed some time to process everything that had happened. Two of their slaves had escaped from their collars and they proceeded to declare war not just on them, but the entire world. The World Nobles, the Gorosei, and the Marines were all chosen targets for Raymond and his vendetta. A mere slave of theirs did the unthinkable and declared war on the entire world. The humiliation and disgrace they felt at this moment was unfathomable. Should word get out to the outside world about this situation, they would become laughing stocks of the Holy Land.

There was only one thing that Charles could think of to help remedy this situation for the time being. He had no other choice but to kill everyone on the entire island. He could not trust any of the peasants on the island to keep their mouths shut. And he was not even going to attempt wasting his precious money bribing them to keep them quiet. Killing them was the best solution. Word about their failures today would never leave the island and it would give him enough time to redeem himself by capturing the slaves and publicly executing them himself.

"Hayes…Helena…I want you to kill everyone on this island." Charles spoke into the Den Den Mushi after making his decision. Hayes and Helena's eyes widened in shock after receiving such an order. This was the first time in their lives that anyone had ordered them to do was a thing. Their jobs were to serve the World Nobles and protect them from people that were considered to be dangerous. After taking a look around the coliseum, they did not spot anyone dangerous looking. They were all ordinary civilians.

"Saint Charles…perhaps you should take some time to calm down and properly collect your thoughts. These are just ordinary civilians; they do not possess any threat to you." Hayes responded to the order in his own subtle way of refusal, hoping that the World Noble would take his advice into consideration.

"Has the slave begun to influence you as well?" Charles coldly said, his words causing the Valentine siblings to freeze up in fear. "Are you going to refuse a direct order from me? Because if so then I will summon for an Admiral to come here and do the job themselves. I do not need useless tools."

"Saint Charles…" Helena attempted to speak, but she was rudely interrupted by the angered World Noble.

"Silence! I do not want to hear another word out of your mouths until you manage to complete your orders for once! You failed to capture the slaves, so do not fail in slaughtering every single peasant on this island! If any information about this day gets out into the world, there will be nothing that I can do to redeem myself or my family! The same could be said for your families as well!"

Having issued out his orders to his bodyguards, Charles hung up the Den Den Mushi and sighed, leaving it to the siblings to make their choice. Hayes and Helena stood in the middle of the ring in complete silence, still trying to process the orders they had been given. This was something completely unforeseen. Members of the Valentine family had never been forced to do something as horrendous as this. Unfortunately, Hayes and Helena had to be the first two in their family ever to partake in a massacre. It was something that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. Should they proceed to carry out the issued order, they would forever be viewed as murderers.

It was something that they were going to have to live with. After steeling themselves for what they were about to do, the two siblings unsheathed their swords and looked to unsuspecting audience with cold stares.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raymond and Jaw were racing through the waterways underneath the city of the island. At first they were being chased around by the sharks that once infested the waters of the coliseum, but after suffering repeated attacks from Raymond, they gave up with their attempts to eat them and backed off. But their problems did not end there. Although they had a head start during their escape, the marines had somehow managed to make their way down there and seal off most of their escape routes, forcing them to take several detours within the waterways. But fortunately, luck was on their side once they came across an exit which had not been sealed by the marines just yet. The two slaves raced through the exit of the waterway and landed outside into the ocean.

It was official. It was now official that they had escaped from the marines and the World Nobles. They were free. There would be no more explosive collars. No more branding. No more chains. No more torture. No more pain. None of that.

They were now free to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. There was no one that could tell them what to do or when to do it. They no longer needed to bow their heads to anyone or call anyone their master. No longer able to contain his excitement, Raymond stretched his arms out into the air and he let out a loud cry of freedom, something that he had wanted to do for a long time.

"We've done it, Jaw! We've finally escaped from those World Nobles!" Raymond wholeheartedly laughed, tears of joy streamed down his face and dripped down onto the Fishman's head, much to his annoyance.

"Yes, I know. It's hard to believe it actually." Jaw nodded his head. He wanted to cry as well, but he refused to do so in the presence of the man that was now his captain. Even though he probably would never admit to anyone unless asked, he was extremely grateful to Raymond. The man did not need to include him in his escape plan. Well actually he did since a major part of the plan required recruiting Jaw into his crew in the first place, but still it was nice. He could have possibly ignored Jaw and figured out some other method of escape, although he believed that it wouldn't have worked out.

"Today marks the beginning, Jaw. We are going to gather millions of subordinates and then destroy the Holy Land, World Government, and the Marines. They're all going to burn down to the ground. I can't wait..." Raymond softly laughed to himself before his eyes widened. A burning sensation could be felt all over his body and a sharp, tingling sensation could be felt around his torso as well. The young man hunched over and writhed in pain, hollering at the top of his lungs, waiting for the immense pain to disappear as soon as possible. Jaw called out to his captain numerous times, wondering what the hell could have possibly happened to him. Eventually the screaming had stopped and Raymond had succumb to his wounds, falling unconscious.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are only six spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-Outcast001**

 **Marksman-theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-KingKatsu**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	7. Shake The World To Its Very Core!

**Shake The World To Its Very Core!**

* * *

Three days had passed since Raymond and Jaw escaped from Grandioso Spettacolo after declaring war on the entire world and those that ruled over it. Through some sheer force of luck, the two pirates managed to swim across the ocean without much difficulty and find an uninhabited since they were not being chased around by any marines for sea creatures. Once landing on the sandy shores of the island, Jaw placed his unconscious Captain on the ground before collapsing from exhaustion. After having to lug around his wounded Captain for three days without any food or rest, it was no wonder why he was tired. It was nothing really compared to what the World Nobles would force him to do without any rest, but he was no longer a slave to those bastards any more. He was now a free Fishman, no longer bound by their chains and shackles. He had his Captain to thank for that.

During their trip his Captain would slip in and out of consciousness. He didn't know how the man was capable of doing it. One moment he would be fine, signing praises about his dramatic escape from the World Nobles. In the next moment, he would writhe in pain from his injuries before losing consciousness again. It was a miracle that the man was still alive in his current condition. After taking a quick glance around his Captain's body, Jaw came to the conclusion that his wounds would have killed any ordinary human. But then again, it wasn't like that he was a doctor in the first place.

He had limited medical knowledge, but he knew that he couldn't let Raymond lie around in the sand with his open wounds. He would be dead within hours possibly if nothing was done. It was already a miracle that he was alive in the first place. Jaw summoned up the strength to stand to his feet and look off into the distance towards the ocean. There was nothing out of the ordinary. No indication of ships out in the distance. So raiding a ship for medical supplies was out of the equation.

The only choice left for the Fishman to venture out into the island, hoping that find something that could potentially help his Captain and save him from death. Although it had crossed his mind to simply abandon him and move on elsewhere, leaving the wounded man to his own demise. He had already helped him escape from the World Nobles. Sure it was also in the verbal agreement for him to join his pirate crew, but if his Captain wound up dying by the end of the day, then the agreement would be null and void. If it was the old him, he would have been long gone after dropping Raymond in the ocean. But now that was no longer an option.

He took a quick glance over to his Captain before heading out into the forest like island. He spent about two hours out there, fighting off carnivorous plants and animals, searching high and low for anything that could save his Captain. Fortunately, he had eventually found something that he had run across before in his travels. They were small, blackberries that possessed healing properties. They should suffice for treating Raymond's wounds in the meantime. Jaw collected as much of these berries as he could find and he headed back to the shore.

Once there the Fishman crushed the berries in his hands and rubbed the juices over Raymond's wounds. Lucky for him the man was still unconscious. The stinging sensation of having the berry juices entering into the wounds would cause a lot of pain. After he had finished applying the medicine to his Captain, he ripped apart some of the fabric of the man's clothes and used them as bandages. He then stood over his Captain's body and smiled, admiring all of the medical work he had completed. If his Captain somehow managed to survive, then he would consider taking up more medical classes and work his way up to gaining a degree.

Now that he had finished tending to his Captain, the next thing that he wished to do was get something to eat. He had been starving for several days and it was beginning to take a toll on his body. If he were any ordinary Fishman, he would have collapsed days ago from hunger. Luckily through his venture back towards the shore, he had brought along the carcasses of the animals that had dared to attack him along the way. He licked his lips in anticipation of the meal that he would soon receive. He gathered some firewood and started a fire, cooking the animal carcasses. The smell and aroma of the food reached Raymond's nostrils and the man slowly opened his eyes.

He tossed and turned for a moment, looking over to see his first mate cooking up some kind of meal. He tried to call out to him, but his voice wouldn't come out. He was still exhausted. His body wouldn't move like he wanted it to. It was only thanks to Jaw noticing him waking up that he was able to finally eat something after days of starvation. The moment he took a bite of the animal meat, he sprung up to his feet and savagely continued to stuff his mouth. Jaw had expected something like this to happen to wild animals.

"Oh my god! This is so delicious! I haven't eaten anything this good in days!" Tears of joy streamed down Raymond's face, dripping down onto his food and making it salty. But he didn't care. Food was food. He was going to enjoy it for as long as he could.

"Make sure that you take it slow, Captain. I've done an adequate job at treating your wounds, so make sure that you don't overdo it and get yourself killed." Jaw warned him, beginning to stuff his face alongside his Captain. The two of them continued to stuff their faces until all of the food was completely gone. They completely ate their fill, as evidence by their inflated stomachs. The two pirates then lied down on their backs and stared up into the sky.

"You know; I was having a bit of a nightmare earlier." Raymond suddenly blurted out. "I dreamt that everything that had happened about our escape was all a lie. That instead of escaping we were captured and tortured for years on end until we eventually died."

"That's one hell of a nightmare." Jaw commented.

"I know, right?" Raymond looked to his first mate. "Can you believe how happy I was when I woke up to the smell of delicious food being cooked? This isn't a dream, Jaw. We are free men. We are no longer slaves to those World Nobles."

"Speaking of the World Nobles, we need to have a serious talk." Jaw sat up and glared at Raymond. "Back at that island, you handed me the key to my explosive collar like it was nothing. You didn't even bother to give me an explanation as to how you managed to get your hands on it. If I'm going to be sailing around with you from now on, I'm going to need you to tell me how you got that key which freed me."

"Man, are you really bothered by that? Does it really matter how I got my hands on that key? The end result is all that really matters." Raymond looked annoyed to have been asked such a question. "You became free thanks to me. End of story."

"No! No end of story! You're going to tell me how you got your hands on that key!" Jaw angrily snapped at the man. He refused to allow such crucial information to slip through his fingers. "Did you really think that I would be satisfied with such an answer? I want to know how you got my key or else I am leaving you here stranded on this island!"

Raymond clicked his tongue in annoyance before hanging his head, sighing in defeat. Even though he didn't want to tell his first mate the events which led to him acquiring the key to his explosive collar, he also didn't want to lose him for something so trivial. He was in a difficult situation. The information he was about to leak would certainly shock his first mate. He would possibly in fact find it hard to believe. Hell, even Raymond found it hard to believe still.

"Alright, first of all, I didn't steal the key if that's what you were thinking." The young man sounded disappointed by that fact.

"I don't care if you stole the key or not. I just want to know how you managed to get your hands on it." Jaw said.

"It all happened two days ago. While I was sitting in my cell late at night, I was approached by the World Noble, Damien Cornwall." Raymond began with his story. He started off with how the World Noble came to visit him at his cell very late at night. At first he thought that the World Noble had come to taunt him some more like Charles and the other World Nobles had done to him in the past. But then something unpredictable happened. The World Noble revealed something about himself that was rather unthinkable in Raymond's mind.

He had informed Raymond about his plan to shake the world to its very core by destroying the Holy Land, the World Government, and the Marines. At the time, Raymond believed that Damien was simply toying around with him, trying to get some sort of reaction out of him. It was unthinkable for a World Noble to basically plan on destroying the organizations that were practically the foundation of the entire world. Should those organizations fall, the entire world would be thrown into chaos. Although Raymond didn't care in the long run since that was his plan as well. But after looking into the eyes of the World Noble, he could see it. He could see the sheer hatred and disdain that Damien held for the other World Nobles.

They were the same eyes that he had. There was no way that someone could fake having eyes like that, no matter how hard that they tried. It was at that moment that Raymond considered actually taking the words of Damien seriously. And that he did. He continued to stare into the eyes of Damien as the World Noble expressed great sorrow in having to pretend to act like the others. He hated using his slaves like they were tools and he truly wished for them to be free. But he needed to act the part to direct suspicion away from himself whenever his plans were set in motion.

In spite of his excuses, no matter how true they may have been, it didn't mean that Raymond was suddenly going to forgive him. Regardless if everything he did was for the sake of putting on an act, a front to be like the other World Nobles, it was still wrong in the end. But nonetheless he kept that to himself and continued to listen to Damien's words. The World Noble wished for Raymond to join in on his mission, his operation, his crusade of justice. He knew that Raymond and all of the other slaves despised the World Nobles as much as he did. And having an army of slaves ready to fight against the entire world was certainly no easy task. If it was, then Damien would have recruited every single slave that came to be within his possession.

But the reality was that he could not afford to recruit every single person that hated the World Nobles. He did not need numbers for his plans. What he truly needed was strength. It did not matter if that strength was physical, emotional, or mental. Strength was strength. That was what he needed. Raymond had the strength. Damien could see it in his eyes. He wanted Raymond to be involved with his cause of cleansing the world. He needed him to be involved with his cause.

He was not going to lie by saying that Raymond was the major key needed to successfully complete his plan, but it sure would not hurt to have him along for the ride. Once Damien had offered for Raymond to join him, it was not all that surprising that the young slave seemed reluctant to involve himself with him. If he had heard that a World Noble was planning on practically destroying the world as everyone knew it, he would be reluctant to trust and involve himself with him as well. Raymond was certainly conflicted after having processed everything that had been told to him.

If Damien was truly sincere and kept true to his words, then that meant that his day of freedom would soon be upon him. He could finally be free from the World Nobles and get his revenge on them some day. All of that could possible if he simply joined Damien. It sounded like an easy choice to make. But in actuality it wasn't. He despised all of the World Nobles, it did not matter who they were. He planned to kill all of them, no exceptions. The bloodline of the World Nobles, the descendants of the creators of the world, they all needed to be erased. Not a single trace of their vile bloodline could be left in this world.

Once he told that to Damien, the World Noble simply smiled in response and told him that he was fine with dying after his plan had succeeded. In fact, that was his plan from the beginning. Despite despising the World Nobles himself, Damien was still one of them. The vile blood that coursed through his veins was like a poison. He wouldn't mind it being removed. But first his dream of freeing the world from its corrupt rulers needed to be achieved. He refused to die before that happened.

That statement alone was more than enough to persuade Raymond into accepting Damien's proposal. He promised him that if Damien helped him escape from the World Nobles, then he would join him in his cause. And then once they succeeded with their plans, he had planned to kill Damien as well. Damien knew this, but he did not care. A deal was a deal. The two of them shook on it. Once everything had been said and done, Damien handed Raymond the key to the explosive collars, telling him to escape whenever he deemed that it was necessary.

"And that's what happened." Raymond finished with his story, gauging the look of disbelief on Jaw's face. It was only natural for the Fishman to have such an expression. He had the same expression on his face as well once Damien had revealed his intentions for the world to him.

"I'm sorry, but I really find this hard to believe. Are you telling me that there is a World Noble that hates other World Nobles? And that he is planning on destroying the Holy Land, World Government, and the Marines?" Jaw asked.

"Sounds unbelievable, right? Try to imagine how shocked I was when I first heard this information." Raymond said.

"A World Noble hating World Noble…no one would ever believe something like that. I mean, I've heard and seen some impossible things in my life. But something like that is kind of…" Jaw paused, having trouble finding the right words to describe the situation.

"Well whether or not if you believe me, that's where I got the key to the explosive collars. Damien Cornwall gave it to me." Raymond told him.

"Wait a minute…you said that he gave you that key two days ago before we reached that island, right? How come I don't remember hearing anything about this? You spoke to him about this within your cell, right? Your cell was within the brig of the marine ship. Everyone in their cells should have overheard you two. How come I don't remember anything about that day?" Jaw bombarded his Captain with questions.

Raymond looked off into the distance and folded his arms with a thoughtful expression. He then looked to his first mate and responded, "Ah, that's because of Damien's devil fruit powers. He can manipulate the memories of people."

"Wait what?" Jaw loudly exclaimed.

"Did you not hear me? Damien Cornwall has eaten a devil fruit that lets him manipulate the memories of people. He's a memory man." Raymond reported to his first mate again. "That's why no one in the brig remembers that conversation. He erased your memories of that moment to prevent any leaks of information getting out."

"Manipulated our memories? A World Noble that hates other World Nobles that plans on destroying the Holy Land, World Government, and the Marines; also has the power to manipulate people's memories with his devil fruit power..." Jaw rambled on quietly, his brain no longer having the mental power to process everything that had been told to him. When he first asked how his Captain had managed to acquire the key to his explosive collar, he didn't expect all of this information to get dropped on him. It was all too much for him to take.

Sensing his first mate's uneasiness, Raymond reached his arm out and patted him on the shoulder as a means to comfort him. "Don't worry about it too much, Jaw. Having Damien watch our backs for the mean time isn't all that of a bad idea. Besides, I do plan on killing him later on. He is a World Noble after all, he is not exempt from my revenge no matter how much he helps us."

* * *

Meanwhile out in the middle of the ocean, Vice-Admiral Gabriel Matthews was pacing back and forth on the deck of his ship that had long departed from Grandioso Spettacolo. Ever since their departure from the island, the entire marine crew had grown stiff. For the marines had been ordered by the World Nobles to assist the Valentine siblings in massacring everyone on the island. It was truly a horrendous act. The marines figured that they would simply be partaking in an escort mission for the World Nobles. They were not expecting their mission to involve the massacre of innocent civilians. If the World Nobles wished to do that, they could have called for an Admiral or at least Buster Call.

Gabriel and his men did not wish to be involved with this incident. But since they were ordered by the World Nobles, they had no other choice but to participate. It did not matter who they had to kill. Men, women, children. They were all shot and cut down before being burned down to ashes in a blazing inferno. The once spectacular and entertaining island of Grandioso Spettacolo had been burnt down in a single night by the hands of the marines.

It was thanks to situations like these that the Marines and World Government were seen in such a bad light. Never ever had Gabriel wanted to be involved in situations like this. But he guessed that it was all unavoidable since he was a Vice-Admiral and that he willingly decided to escort the World Nobles, despite the danger. To be honest, Matthew was not too bothered by the fact that he had to burn down an entire island. This was not the first time he had been ordered to do something like this. There was a situation years ago in where he was a member of Buster Call. He joined four other Vice-Admirals on their mission to destroy an entire island believed to be a front for the Revolutionary Army.

He hated to admit it, but Matthew was not going to lose any sleep over this incident. But what he was going to lose sleep over was the escape of Raymond Everett and Jaw, the two former slaves of the World Nobles. Gabriel did not know much about Jaw, so he was not that worried about his escape. In fact, since he was a Fishman, Gabriel figured that he would never have the chance of seeing him ever again. But Raymond on the other hand, he was certain that man would show up in the newspaper eventually. The incident of his escape was obviously going to be covered up here, but it did not mean that the future problems that he was going to cause would be covered up as well.

The Vice-Admiral broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of his nightmare from three days ago becoming a reality. He could actually see the organizations that rule over the world being burned down to ashes. He was beginning to believe that his nightmare was more of a premonition. A premonition that would certainly come true if nothing was done quickly. The freed slaves needed to be captured as soon as possible. The fate of the entire world was at stake. Or at least Gabriel was the only one that believed that.

His subordinates believed that they would possibly never see the freed slaves ever again. That if they were smart, they would keep their heads down for the rest of their lives and hopefully they wouldn't get captured by the World Nobles again. After making such a daring declaration and escaping from the island, they would easily be captured if they immediately started causing a ruckus.

In spite of knowing how terrible it was going to sound; Gabriel had hoped that Raymond and Jaw would be stupid enough to cause a ruckus somewhere. It would at least give them some clue as to where the slaves could have gone. Gabriel had somewhat of an idea as to where they could have gone, but it was only a hunch and he did not want to waste precious time and energy on a hunch. It was frustrating, but there was nothing that he could do at the moment but continue to stir the ship in a random direction.

Meanwhile underneath the deck of the ship, Saint Charlotte Flameheart and Saint Damien Cornwall were sitting across from each other, discussing the recent events that had occurred over the past three days. After Raymond and Jaw had escaped from the island, Saint Charles Flameheart was absolutely livid. He was consumed with such blinding rage that he had ordered for the Valentine siblings to massacre everyone on the island. It was to ensure that the humiliating events would never reach the world through the newspapers. It took around fifteen hours for the Valentine siblings and the marines to slaughter every single person on that island in cold blood. Once that was completed, the island was then burned down to the ground to cover their tracks.

The sight of the burning island sincerely pleased Charles. Charlotte and Damien on the other hand were not amused. This was not the first time witnessing a tragedy such as this. In the past Charles had instigated multiple massacres due to his tantrums of blind rage. Hell, even the marines aboard the ship were in danger of falling victim to his tantrums had it not been for the two of them convincing him to spare their lives for the mean time. Now that Charles had calmed down and gone off to bed, Charlotte and Damien were resting within the room, playing a game of chess to pass the time.

"So…has everything gone according to plan?" Charlotte inquired before making a move with her chess piece.

"I would be lying if I said that everything went according to plan." Damien nonchalantly responded, giving a quick look over of the chess board before he made his move as well. "I had hoped that Charles would not have ordered another massacre of an innocent island. But of course, your father still throws his tantrums."

"I will forever be ashamed of having such a man as my father." Charlotte lowered her head and sighed in disappointment. It was not easy pretending to love her father. He was such a cruel man and it seemed impossible for someone like her to be anywhere near related to him.

"Just like I will forever be ashamed of having such poisonous blood coursing through my veins." Damien rolled up the sleeves of his suit and grimaced. Every waking moment pained him severely. "But now that our king and knight have escaped from the clutches of the pawn, our plans should be moving along quite smoothly now."

Damien moved another chess piece across the board, moving aside Charlotte's and claiming it with his hand.

"Our king and knight? Are you referring to Raymond and Jaw?" Charlotte looked up from the game board, trying to hide the fact that she was upset about losing another chess piece. "Considering the others you have under your wing, I figured that you would refer to them as pawns or rooks. Although I am certain they would not be too happy to hear that you are referring to them as chess pieces like some kind of mastermind."

"Mastermind?" Damien blinked in surprise. He did not consider himself to be much of a mastermind. But after taking into consideration of all the things he had done throughout all his years of meticulous planning, he simply nodded his head and accepted the title of mastermind. "I guess you could call me a mastermind. But disregarding that for the time being, I only mean the utmost respect when I refer to Raymond and Jaw as the king and knight of this organization."

"So how many pieces do we have?" Charlotte asked.

"One king, one queen, two knights, two bishops, no rooks as of yet, and finally hundreds of pawns." Damien answered. "Overall, I would this rate a success. Now that we have done our part, we need to wait for the other pieces to do theirs."

"Do you have any idea as to how long that will take?" The blue haired World Noble reclined in her chair and looked up to the ceiling with a blank stare.

"It could take several years from now. We must be careful or else our entire organization could fall apart at the seams. You would not want that to happen now would you?" Damien warned his partner, knowing that she wasn't as patient as him when it came to certain things. When it came down to planning something that could drive the world into a complete state of chaos, one needed to be careful. Being careless would only cause more harm than good, as evident by Damien's failure to protect the innocent people of the island three days ago. Although it was regrettable, he needed to move forward. He was already used to stepping over mountains of corpses to achieve his goals, he was not going to let this unfortunate misstep prevent him from changing the world for the better.

He knew that other organizations were trying to do the same thing, but he believed that they were all misguided. He believed that only his organization was truly just and that they would be the ones to accomplish the impossible. No one could stand in their way. They possessed too much power and influence, which would one day destroy the foundations of the world as everyone knew it.

"Of course not, but sitting around waiting for something to happen is exhausting." Charlotte continued to plan. Damien simply laughed it off and paid it no mind. Patience is a virtue.

"We will not be sitting around, Charlotte. We have to do our part in recruiting more members for our organization." Damien reached within his suit and pulled out a stack of wanted posters. He then set the chessboard aside and set the stack of wanted posters down on the table. "There are some interesting people that could potentially become our rooks. We should take the opportunity to find and speak with them about our cause."

"Do you think my father would allow us to do as we pleased while his freed slaves are still out there somewhere?" Charlotte questioned, reaching her hands out and sorting through the stack of wanted posters. She did not see anyone of any interest to her.

"I am certain that I could persuade him. If not, a little memory manipulation could not hurt, right?" Damien smiled at her.

Charlotte in response to the smile, clicked her tongue and avoided making eye contact with him. Ever since Damien came across his devil fruit abilities, he had become rather arrogant. She could not blame him though, his devil fruit powers were not to be underestimated. His devil fruit gave him a wide range of abilities, which made her a little jealous in the long run. She wished that her devil fruit powers gave her such dominating abilities.

"Yeah, I guess you are right." The blue haired woman sighed in defeat. "So, what is our next course of action? At this rate father will reach his boiling point and summon forth an Admiral to help search for Raymond and Jaw."

"I will either distract him or manipulate his memories. So far my plan is give Raymond enough time to sail around the West Blue and gather some trust worthy comrades before they head into the Grand Line." Damien answered. "It will take some time...possibly months. But we must ensure that they escape. The entire fate of this organization rests on that man's shoulders."

Although she did not see what Damien saw in Raymond; Charlotte nonetheless nodded her head in understanding. Compared to her, Damien was a genius of nearly unmatched intellect. As evident by the fact that she has never been able to beat him in a battle of wits, such as games of chess. He was the sort of man that thought at least three hundred steps ahead of an opponent before making a move in anything that he did. That brain of his impressed her. She could not wait to see what the man had in store for the world. If Damien was willing to place all of his trust and faith on one man and a Fishman, then she would do the same without hesitation. Now all she had to do was stick with Damien and see what kind of world would be created after the dust settled.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are only six spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-Outcast001**

 **Marksman-theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-KingKatsu**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-?**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	8. Just Landed And Already Causing Trouble!

**Just Landed And Already Causing Trouble!**

* * *

"Captain…is that…is that what I think it is?" The Fighting Fish Fishman stood in daze, watching Raymond Everett tie together some kind of contraption. Two hours ago after the two of them had finished eating their meals, Raymond mentioned something about building a raft for transportation. At the time it sounded like a good idea for the time being. After all, Jaw didn't want to have to swim around the ocean with his Captain on his back like he did before. Not only was it awkward as hell, but it restricted his movements a lot; especially since his Captain was wounded at the time.

But now that he had feasted his eyes upon the abomination that is the raft, Jaw found it very difficult to even react properly. The "raft" that Raymond had made was poorly constructed to say the least. The wood used was poor in quality and it didn't seem like it would be able to support any amount of weight before immediately sinking down to the bottom of the ocean. It wasn't even tied together properly so it was already falling apart. The part that made this situation even worse was the fact that Raymond was standing over the raft with a confident smile. The black haired man looked over the raft with the utmost confidence and he nodded his head, believing that it would be able to sail across the sea without any problems.

Although it pained him to do this, not really though; the Fishman approached the raft and crushed it beneath his foot in front of his Captain. He showed absolutely no mercy or remorse. He ignored the desperate cries and pleas from his Captain and continued to crush the remnants of the raft into the sand. Adding insult to injury, he spat on the only piece of wood sticking out from the sand before walking off. mumbling to himself about how he had to do everything.

Raymond stared at the "grave" of his beloved raft with teary eyes. It took him two hours to make that raft, although most of the time was spent searching for materials to make it. He dropped down to his knees and let out a wail of sorrow. Although their time together had been short, very short, he still considered it to be family. He had named it Raftey. He had planned to use that raft to sail around the West Blue until the crew would be fortunate enough to find a ship of their own to use instead. But even still, he had planned to keep it along for the ride.

He could already picture the fun adventures his crew would have on Raftey. They would sail around the West Blue and even possibly the Grand Line, battling against other pirates, marines, and sea creatures. If they were lucky, they would reach the New World and achieve their dreams. But now thanks to that bastard Jaw, his dreams were dashed, destroyed, and buried. He didn't know where his first mate had wandered off to after "murdering" a family member, but he refused to allow the Fishman to get away with it. He was going to get his revenge.

The angered pirate captain quickly sprung to his feet and whispered his final goodbyes to Raftey before he angrily stormed off to find his murderous first mate. While venturing through the forest, he angrily mumbled incoherent swears. He had already planned out what he was going to do to the Fishman once he had finally found him. First, he was going to kick his ass. Second, he was going to have the Fishman grovel at his feet and then beg for forgiveness. And third, he was going to drag the Fishman back to the shore and have him properly bury the remains of Raftey. Raymond spent a lot of time and hard work crafting that raft and he refused to let Jaw get away with just crushing it and walking away without even giving it a chance to sail.

It took some time to do it, but Raymond eventually found his first mate. But to his surprise the first mate had just finished crafting an entirely new and improved raft of his own. Jaw had used large logs wound together by thick vines. Another log is posted in the middle of the raft with a bunch of leaves stuck together through some kind of adhesive acting as the sails. Another sail is set up near the stern of the raft, behind the main sails.

Raymond was at a loss for words as he stared in awe at the magnificent raft that had been built by his first mate. All of his hatred and thoughts of vengeance against his first mate suddenly disappeared as he slowly approached the raft. He laid his body across it and gently rubbed the raft, somehow managing to enjoy the rough texture of the wood. Jaw stared blankly at the sight of this and decided not to even bother questioning what was happening here. As long as his Captain didn't do anything stupid and destroy the raft, he was somewhat fine with him doing whatever he was doing to the raft. The Fishman picked up the newly constructed raft and lifted it above his head, carrying it all the way back to the shore before setting it down into the ocean.

To Raymond's surprise, the raft actually floated. In spite of its superior looks when compared to the one that he had built, he desired for the Fishman's raft to complete sink into the ocean. But once again his desires for revenge were denied. The black haired man contemplated on simply destroying the raft himself, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was so well made and he didn't want to face the wrath of the Fishman at the moment. He could already imagine Jaw simply stranding him on that island to die alone. It would be a wise decision to avoid that outcome by any means necessary.

"Alright, now we have a raft that we can use for travel." Jaw turned his back to the ocean and went over to collect the food that he had prepared hours ago. Since they would be traveling around the West Blue for a while, obviously they were going to need it. Neither of them possessed any adequate navigation skills, so they had no idea when they would find another island, or even if they were going to find one anyway.

"Yeah, it's okay. My raft was much better though." Raymond crossed his arms and pouted, still feeling depressed about the "murder" of his own raft.

"Sure it was." Jaw sarcastically responded with a roll of his eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that if they had made the foolish decision to go with Raymond's raft, it wouldn't last five seconds in the water without falling apart and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. And there was no way that he was going to let his Captain hitch a ride on his back again.

After he had gathered all of their supplies, he tossed them over to his Captain before he approached the raft and pushed it further into the ocean. Now that a source of transportation had been built, there was no need for the two of them to remain on the island any longer. Once they were far enough out, Jaw hopped onto the raft and allowed the wind to take them wherever.

"So, what's our next course of action, Captain?" The Fishman asked, watching the island disappear into the distance.

"Isn't it obvious? Since we're now a pirate crew, we need to search around for more members." Raymond responded as if it were obvious. Despite the tremendous amount of strength that the two of them possessed, it was nowhere near enough to accomplish their dreams. "Since I'm planning on entering the Grand Line eventually, I would like to find a Navigator as soon as possible. Aimlessly sailing around the West Blue can only get us so far."

Jaw nodded his head and responded with a small grunt. He was surprised that his Captain had actually given things some actual thought. Clearly finding a Navigator for the crew would be the best choice. Should they be successful in their endeavors, sailing around the West Blue should be a breeze. However, there were a few big problems with their plans. One, there was no guarantee that they would be able to find a Navigator any time soon. Two, even if they did by some miracle find a Navigator, once they learned about Captain's dream to destroy the World Nobles, World Government, and Marines, they would immediately refuse to join them.

It wasn't like he could blame them. Anyone that had the gall to proudly announce their dream to destroy those organizations would immediately be seen as foolish and or insane. Anyone willing to join them would be described that way as well. Not to mention that if the World Government heard word about such a crew recruiting members, they would waste no time in seeing that such a crew is destroyed immediately. If it had not been the fact that Jaw hated the World Nobles with a passion, he wouldn't even consider joining such a dangerous crew.

"How do you plan on convincing someone of joining your crew? It's not like many people are suicidal enough to want to join a crew of people planning on destroying the world." Jaw informed his Captain, feeling the need to speak about his grievances with the plan as soon as possible.

"I will admit that it won't be easy. But I'm sure that we'll figure something out." Raymond assured his first mate, deciding not to sweat the small details for the mean time. It wasn't like he was in a huge rush to find a Navigator. Things like recruitment for a pirate crew took time and planning. He wouldn't settle for just anyone. Sure he needed specific people with certain skills within his crew, but he needed to make sure that they had one thing in common. Drive. He needed people with drive to join his crew.

If they had the skills that he needed to further his venture through the world, that would be great. But if they did not have any drive, willpower, or passion to do what he needed of them, then joining the crew would be pointless. He didn't need pointless people joining his crew.

"Well we should figure something out fast. We can't recklessly sail around the West Blue forever, especially when we have the World Nobles looking after us." Jaw reminded his Captain. "Don't think that for a second that we're in the clear simply because we escaped from them. I'm sure that every marine base stationed in this part of the seas has been informed about us already. I wouldn't even be surprised if they already issued out bounties for us."

"Bounties you say?" Raymond's eyes sparkled in sheer excitement after hearing the mention of bounties. As a pirate, having a bounty meant that you were rather successful when compared to others. Now that he was a pirate, he couldn't wait to see how much his first bounty would be. Considering his amount of strength, Raymond estimated it to be around at least fifty million beli's.

"Don't act all excited about that fact! The moment we get bounties on our heads, the Marines and the World Government will not hesitate to be sending people our way!" Jaw snapped at the recklessness of his Captain. "We should spend our time recruiting crew members covertly. We need to keep our heads down and ensure that we avoid making contact with any marines."

Raymond stared blankly at his first mate for a moment before letting out a long, dragged out sigh. Veins of anger protruded on the Fishman's forehead after receiving such a response from his Captain. He didn't know why Raymond seemed so disappointed with that plan. It was the best plan that he could think of on such short notice. It was obvious that keeping their heads down would be the best course of action. Surely all of the marines in the West Blue have been notified about their escape and possible bounties could have been issued out for other marines and bounty hunters to see. Recklessly showing up anywhere within West Blue from now on could be a matter of life and death. So the fact that his Captain was taking the situation so lightly irritated him greatly.

"How boring." Raymond lied down on the raft and stared up to the sky. "You simply don't understand how this works. If you want to recruit people into your gang, organization, or pirate crew, you need to have some kind of credibility to prove your worth. If I try to recruit someone into my crew without any proof of my strength, say a bounty, it would be pointless."

"Recruiting someone into the crew will be problematic whether or not if you have a bounty. Once they learn about your goals, they will most likely turn tail and run away." Jaw informed him.

"Then that simply means that they were not worth joining my crew in the first place." Raymond simply dismissed his first mate's words. "But enough talking about recruiting people for the time being. We need to discuss something far more important."

"What is that?"

"Naming the raft of course."

"Are you stupid?" The Fighting Fish Fishman retorted angrily, smacking his Captain across his head. He unconsciously used too much strength and knocked Raymond into the sea. The black haired man flailed around wildly, screaming his head off about how he couldn't swim. It didn't take him long to become submerged in the water.

Jaw stared blankly at the surface of the water, counting the number of bubbles his drowning Captain was creating. He contemplated on whether or not he should jump in and save him. Since his Captain was a devil fruit user, he couldn't swim to save his life. It was the price one had to be when being granted great power. If nothing was done, Raymond would sink to the depths of the ocean and drown. Should that happen, Jaw would be free to do as he pleased.

But of course his conscious wouldn't allow him to do such a thing. He couldn't simply abandon the man who had risked his own life to free him. Despite how annoying he was; he was still the Captain. Any first mate that couldn't protect their Captain was worthless. Jaw let out a sigh before diving into the ocean to retrieve Raymond. He managed to rescue and bring the man back onto the raft in a matter of seconds.

In spite of being rescued by his first mate, Raymond refused to ignore the crucial fact that he had nearly killed him in the first place. Once he had caught his breath after nearly drowning, the black haired man grabbed a hold of the Fishman and shook him.

"You bastard! You nearly killed me!" Raymond snapped at Jaw. He had half a mind to fight him at that exact moment, but after considering the fact that they were surrounded by water, the one thing that gave his first mate the superior advantage, he decided against it and calmed down.

"Yeah, yeah, my bad. I'll be sure to control my strength next time." Jaw halfheartedly apologized for his actions.

"That doesn't sound like you're reflecting on your actions." Raymond grumbled as he removed his shirt and proceeded to ring it out. "As the Captain of this crew of two, my first official order is this, "no more knocking the Captain into the water". Are we clear?"

"Yes, Captain." Jaw nodded his head in understanding of the order.

"Now that you understand…" Raymond looked to his crew mate and nodded in confirmation that the Fishman understood the situation. As the Captain of the crew, he was the one in charge here, not the other way around. If he didn't lay down some ground rules immediately, he would be seen as weak and a pushover. Feeling satisfied with his authority over his first mate, Raymond slung his shirt over his shoulder and walked over to the front of the raft. He stared out to the vast ocean in front of him with great anticipation. He couldn't wait to see what the world had in store for him. He certainly had a lot in store for it. He was going to take the world by storm and no one prepared for him would get swept away without mercy.

"Alright…this adventure is going to be great!" He shouted out into the air with much enthusiasm.

* * *

 **Four Days Later...**

* * *

"This...adventure...sucks!" Raymond loudly groaned while lying flat on the raft, baking in the hot sun. It had been four days since Raymond and Jaw set sail from the island. So far the two man pirate crew had no success in finding any islands. Raymond had expected it to be difficult since neither him or Jaw had any navigation skills, but he wasn't expecting it to be this bad. All of their food and rations had been completely depleted since two days ago. They would have starved by now if it had not been for Jaw occasionally diving underwater and capturing many sea creatures.

Raymond often complained that he hated eating raw fish, but it was better than starving to death, so he reluctantly put up with it. Another problem that the two man crew encountered was that the leaves acting as the raft's sails were destroyed after they unknowingly sailed into a storm. Not having anything to use for sails, Jaw was forced to pull the raft along as the two continued to sail around the ocean.

"Give it to me straight, Jaw. Are we going to die like this?"

"Probably..." Jaw didn't hesitate to answer. "Or rather, you're the one that's going to die at this rate. You're baking in the hot sun while I'm in the ocean. Once you die from heatstroke, I'll leave your body floating on this raft and head on home."

"Head on home, huh?" Raymond didn't seem affected by the words of his first mate. "Fishman Island I presume? I can't wait to get there. I hear that there are some beautiful mermaids down there. I would love to see one..." The black haired man began to laugh to himself as he began to daydream about the day he could encounter beautiful mermaids. His antics brought Jaw to the conclusion that his Captain was certainly suffering from heatstroke. If he didn't find any sort of shade soon, he would certainly die.

Fortunately, salvation appeared to the two in the form of an island not too far away from them. Jaw informed his Captain about its appearance and the man quickly "recovered" and stood to his feet to get a better look at the island. From what he could see so far, it appeared to only consist of a large town. Where there was a large town, there were people. Where there were people, there was food. This equation ran through Raymond's mind while his mouth was wide open, large quantities of drool gushed out of his mouth, disgusting the Fishman in the process.

Unable to contain his excitement at the sight of the new island, Raymond repeatedly stomped his foot on the raft while pointing at the island, ordering his first mate to speed up. He couldn't wait any longer. He refused to wait any longer. He wanted to explore the island and see what it had to offer him. Due to Jaw's speed in pulling the raft, it only took about thirty minutes for the two of them to reach the docks of the island.

"Ah, it feels so good to be on dry land again." Raymond jumped onto the docks and stretched his body constantly, ignoring the strange looks that he was getting from random onlookers. After he had finished with his stretches, he looked to his crew mate, wondering why the Fishman had not stepped out onto the island yet. "Hey Jaw, what are you doing? Come out of the water already and join me up here."

"No way." Jaw immediately refused.

"What? Why not? Don't you want to see what this island has to offer us?"

"Not really. In case you haven't noticed, Captain. Fishmen aren't really welcomed above water these days. Especially when you look as frightening as I do." Jaw indicated to the civilians that were giving him and his Captain suspicious looks.

Raymond looked to the onlookers and clicked his tongue at them in annoyance. He didn't care if everyone else was frightened of his first mate. He wanted Jaw to disregard them and come above the water to enjoy himself. He was free after all. He should no longer feel the need to restrict himself for the sake of others.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Besides, someone needs to keep track of the raft to make sure that it doesn't go anywhere." Jaw informed his Captain.

"Alright, if you're sure you're okay with this." Raymond decided to drop the subject for now. He didn't want to force his crew mate into doing anything that he didn't want to do. It would be a slow process. But he was going to make sure that his first mate would come onto an island with him one day.

"Before you head off though, make sure that you do something for me. One, find me some new clothes. I'm getting tired of wearing these rags. Two, see if you can find some sails for the raft. And three, don't do anything stupid." Jaw laid down some ground rules of his own. "We don't know the situation that we're currently in right now. We're not sure if we have bounties on our heads or anything like that. So don't do anything that will draw any attention to yourself."

"I don't know, Jaw. Showing up on an island on a raft with a Fishman already seems to have drawn some attention." Raymond laughed while indicating to the onlookers again.

"I'm serious, Captain." Jaw growled at him.

"Relax, I don't plan on doing anything bad here." Raymond turned his back to the Fishman and looked towards the large town in the distance. "I'm simply going to explore for a little bit and find out the situation about the World Nobles. I'll also see to it that I complete the tasks you've given to me as well."

"I'm trusting you on this, Captain. If you come across any sort of trouble, you had best come back here so that we can make our escape as soon as possible. I don't want to have to come up here and save your ass." Jaw told him.

"I'll keep that in mind. Keep Raftey II safe, okay?" Raymond waved off his first mate before he walked off towards the town off in the distance.

"Raftey II?" Jaw muttered before staring blankly at the raft. He then sank down into the water, muttering something else about the terrible naming sense that his idiotic Captain had.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raymond wandered aimlessly through the bustling town on the island. His arms were folded behind the back of his head and he whistled a merry tune as he continued with his walk. So far nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The people of the town seemed entirely cheerful as they often welcomed one another or said goodbye once one of them decided to leave the area. Despite the town being so large, everyone appeared to know one another. All and all the town appeared to be entirely peaceful.

As the black haired man continued to venture through the town, he walked past multiple restaurants. His stomach grumbled as the wonderful aromas from each restaurant intruded his nostrils. He wanted nothing more than to walk into those restaurants and eat as much as he could. But the only problem was that he didn't have any money. It wasn't that much of a surprise to him since he was a freed slave. Stealing money from the World Nobles before making his escape was the last thing on his mind at the time. He mentally cursed his lack of foresight before sighing in defeat.

Multiple ideas raced through his mind as to what he could do to find some quick source of cash. He didn't plan to stay on the island for long. Jaw had told him that staying in one spot for too long could prove to be disastrous. They were escaped slaves. Former property of World Nobles. Escaped slaves were occasionally hunted down by the marines, captured, and then returned to their masters. Anyone found out to be helping or harboring freed slaves would be considered criminals.

Fortunately, no one seemed to be aware of the fact that Raymond was a freed slave. So that meant that the World Nobles had yet to issue out wanted posters for them. Or at least they haven't released them to the public. Knowing Saint Charles Flameheart as much as he did, Raymond figured that the World Noble decided to keep the matter of his escape top secret. After all, if slaves managed to escape from the grasps of World Nobles, it would shame and humiliate them greatly. They would be seen as laughing stocks to the other World Nobles. So Raymond figured that wanted posters were issued out only for the eyes of the marines and no one else.

As far as he could tell, there were no marines or police force stationed on this island. So he was completely lucky for the most part. Staying on this island for a day or two shouldn't be too much for a problem for him. He could find some employment somewhere, gain some funds, and then buy some food and supplies for his travels across the ocean. Of course he would need to run this plan through with his first mate. He didn't want to leave the Fishman out of the loop or anything like that. He could already picture his first mate refusing to go with such a plan, but Raymond was certain that he could find some way of persuading him.

Raymond was broken away from his current train of thought after he witnessed three men being thrown out from a weapons shop nearby. Despite such a scene occurring in broad daylight, none of the townspeople seemed bothered by the incident at all. They simply went on their way as if it was a natural occurrence, a daily thing. The three men stood to their feet, dusted themselves off, and then proceeded to bang loudly on the door of the weapon shop that had been locked. They were yelling their heads off about how they wanted weapons and that the person in charge needed to come outside to face them.

"Hey, you guys should perhaps calm down or something." Raymond called out to the three men. He didn't entirely know what was going on, but he didn't want the men to cause problems for the owner of the weapons shop. Although he was being as polite as he could, the three men took his words as an insult. They looked away from the weapons shop and they turned their attention onto him. He mentally cursed at himself for speaking out at that.

He wasn't scared of three approaching men at all. He was upset that he unconsciously drew attention to himself. Not even thirty minutes have passed and he already broke one of the conditions given to him by his first mate. It was rather fortunate that the Fishman was not here to witness the incident. But if word got out that he was responsible for whatever was about to happen...he didn't even want to think of the repercussions. By the time he had finished thinking about the punishment he would receive from his first mate, he had realized that the three men had already surrounded him.

"Huh? Who is this guy? Who does he think he is calling out to us like that?" The first man sneered at Raymond while the other two circled around them.

"Judging by his clothes, he must be some kind of rich kid or noble." The second man answered.

"Just because you have a little money here and there you think you can just do whatever you want?" The third man placed his hand on Raymond's shoulder.

"You must have no idea as to who we are, do you?" The first man leaned forward and got in Raymond's face. "We are the people that run this here town. And you have disrespected us greatly. However, we are willing to over look this incident if you pay us some compensation."

"Compensation? All I did was kindly ask for you three to calm down. You were making such a ruckus that I didn't want you to disturb the peace of the townspeople." Raymond explained to them.

"A ruckus? What ruckus were we causing? I don't see anyone else being bothered by what was happening." The second man stated, glancing around to see a very few limited amount of people around the area. It was there that Raymond began to understand the situation. These men belonged to some kind of organization that apparently ran the town. That explained as to why no one seemed to be bothered by their ruckus earlier. They did not wish to anger them. Raymond mentally cursed at himself again for causing trouble.

"Okay, I understand the situation. I apologize for rudely calling out to you. I'm not from this island so I was unaware of what was going on." Raymond told them.

The three men exchanged glances for a brief moment and grinned at how easy it was to get someone like Raymond to submit to them. Since things were going their way so far, they decided to test their luck and proceed with their attempts at extortion.

"Since you seem to understand the situation that you got yourself in, we will forgive you if you pay us compensation. Would you be willing to agree to paying us...ten million beli's each?" The first man suggested.

Raymond's eyes widened in shock after hearing the outrageous suggestion. For simply calling out to those men, they now expected him to pay them ten million beli's each? The suggestion was simply outrageous and unnecessary. He understood that they believed him to be a noble because of his current attire, but it didn't give them any right to try and extort him for such a large amount of money. Who did they think they were trying to extort money from a person they believed to be a noble? How much power and influence did these guys have over the entire town?

"Forgive me, but I didn't bring any money with me today. So I can't pay you any money."

"Oh, how unfortunate for you. If you can't pay us any proper compensation with money. Then you will have to sell your body then and become a slave." The first man informed him, causing Raymond's body to grow all tense for a moment.

"That's just how things are run around here. If you can't pay us, then you'll be sold off as a slave." The other two men joined their comrade in laughter.

"Unforgivable." Raymond clenched his hands into fists. He didn't know who these men were. And quite frankly he didn't care at all. Whenever he heard people nonchalantly mention slavery like those men had just done, containing his anger was no longer possible.

"Huh? Did you say something?" The three men ceased with their laughter.

"I said that you guys are unforgivable. I tried not to make a scene...but you three have just now pissed me off beyond all belief." Raymond glared daggers at the three men. His immense killing intent overwhelmed them. They were trembling uncontrollably and they couldn't understand why. He was simply one man. But for some reason every fiber of their being was warning them to steer clear from him.

Luckily before anything else could happen, the door to the weapon shop swung open and a man stepped outside. The man was rather stocky and large, easily towering over Raymond and the other men. The man was wearing simple overalls that were stained with black substances, gloves, and boots. The three men looked to the large man and somehow regained their composure. They approached the man and surrounded him instead.

"Hey old man! You sure had some nerve throwing us out of your shop like that earlier!" The first man spoke out.

"Yeah! Do you have any idea who we are?" The second man followed up.

"That was a very disrespectful thing to do!" The third man finished.

The large man looked down to the three man surrounding him and arrogantly scoffed, not feeling threatened at all by the likes of them. "I don't care who you three think you are. If you don't have any money to buy my weapons, then you have no business being in my shop in the first place. I don't give out handouts to anyone."

"You sure seem arrogant there, old man. Don't think you're some big shot just because you're the best blacksmith in all of West Blue. If you anger us, you anger our boss. And the last thing you want to do is anger our boss." The three men felt no shame in hiding behind the title of their boss.

"I could care less if I anger some brat recklessly throwing their power and influence around. You tell your boss that if he wants some of my weapons, then he will have to pay the price like everyone else. Or is he simply running short on money for some reason?" The old man looked to the three men suspiciously, taking immediate notice of their nervousness.

"Oh, so is that how it is?" The three men shuddered in fear after feeling an ominous aura from behind them. They reluctantly turned around and jumped at the sight of Raymond. The black haired man was standing there, cracking his knuckles with a menacing expression on his face. "So because you losers are short on money, you felt the need to try and extort me and then threaten to turn me into a slave? You guys should be punished for your disrespect."

"D-Don't think that we'll forgive you for this! Once the boss learns about your defiance to our demands, he will surely see to it that you're brought down!" The three men declared before they ran off, no longer wanting to be around the two men.

Once they were gone, Raymond and the old man exchanged glances with one another. They were not entirely sure what had happened, but they were glad that it was over. The two men smiled at each other and proceeded to break out into a fit of laughter.

"Thanks for the help there, old man. If you hadn't come out here when you did, I would have buried those guys into the ground with these fists of mine." Raymond proudly announced his intentions to pummel the men from earlier.

"No problem, youngster. Those guys were causing trouble because of me and I didn't want an innocent bystander such as yourself to get involved. But it looks like I had nothing to be worried about." The old man said.

"Unfortunately, it looks like those guys plan to involve me with their plans of revenge. Even though I haven't really done anything to them at all." Raymond scratched the back of his head, looking off into the distance in the direction that the men ran off in.

"Don't worry about them, youngster. They won't recklessly try anything to harm you." The old man pat Raymond on the back. After taking notice of his attire, the old man's eyes turned into beli signs. He then firmly grabbed a hold of Raymond's shoulders and forcibly pushed him into the weapons shop. "But enough about them. You seem like a nice and wealthy...I mean influential young man. Why don't you come inside my shop and have a look around? I'm certain that you may find something that may interest you and your needs."

"H-Hold on a second! Wait a moment! I didn't come here to..." Despite Raymond's pleas, the elderly man refused to listen and he forced Raymond into the weapons shop. Once he was inside, the old man looked outside to make sure that no one was around before he closed the door and locked it behind him.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are only five spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-?**

 **Archaeologist-?**

 **Shipwright-Outcast001**

 **Marksman-theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	9. Defiance Against The Celestial Dragons!

**Defiance Against The Celestial Dragons!**

* * *

Raymond Everett was in a difficult position. After chasing off three goons earlier with the help of an elderly blacksmith, the old man forced him inside of his shop to show off his weapons. At first it didn't seem like a such a bad idea. Despite not having much need for weapons due to his fighting style, it didn't mean that he wasn't interested in them. He was lead throughout the large weapon shop, being showed all types of weapons ranging from swords, maces, axes, shields, and spears. Raymond's eyes sparkled at the sight of the impressively crafted weapons. He could tell that the materials used to make them were indeed top notch.

Every time he reached out and picked up one of the weapons, the blacksmith's face seemed to brighten up, almost blinding him, although it may have just been his imagination. Also, every time he set the weapon back down onto its rightful spot, the blacksmith's face would turn sour and he would mumble some kind of swear underneath his breath. Raymond could immediately tell that the blacksmith was only after one thing…money. He caught onto the man instantly after hearing him mention something about him being wealthy. Of course Raymond himself wasn't wealthy. He was an escaped slave. He had no money to his name whatsoever.

But the greedy blacksmith was unaware of that fact. For all that he knew, Raymond was a wealthy noble considering the expensive clothes that he was wearing. Every time the blacksmith looked to the black haired man, his eyes would transform into beli signs and maniacally rub his hands together, imagining all of the money that he would get if he could just "convince" him to buy something. So far he had shown him some of his best work. At first Raymond seemed interested in them, but he would ultimately set them back down and refuse to buy them. This angered him to some extent, but he nonetheless controlled his emotions and continued with his advances. He could tell he was getting close to home. Raymond was feeling anxious, as if he was getting close succumbing to the peer pressure. The blacksmith simply needed to find something that would push Raymond over the edge and convince him to buy something.

He was going to have to show him the big guns. He was going to have to show Raymond something so amazing that he would be a fool not to buy it. Luckily the blacksmith had such an item. He was certain that the black haired man would be putty in his hands in a matter of minutes. He guided him to the basement of the establishment where he crafted all of his weapons. The place was a complete mess. There was equipment scattered around all over the floor. There were broken crates as well as broken weapons discarded in a pile near the corner of the basement.

There were even spider webs and many other insects crawling about the place. However, completely untouched by the filth of the basement was a lone sword being held up on a mantle above the fireplace. The blacksmith led Raymond to the sword while giving out details of the sword and its origin. It was crafted using a special kind of shape-memory alloy that went by the name of Wapometal. That's as far as Raymond listened in on the explanation. He didn't mean to be rude to the blacksmith, but something else had crossed his mind at the moment as a certain object entered his field of view.

It was a branding iron. His expression grew dark and his body became tense at the sight of it. Branding irons brought up bad memories for him. It immediately reminded him of the time when he was branded by the World Nobles. On his back was the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon, the symbol of the World Nobles. He could still feel the burning sensation on his back as if it were still fresh. The sound of the burning hot piece of metal burning away at his flesh echoed through his mind at the moment. The smell of his burning flesh at the time made him feel nausea's.

He felt like he was going to have a panic attack at any moment. That was until he felt a large pair of hands grip tightly onto his shoulders. He quickly snapped back into reality and he swatted the pair of hands away from him, getting into a fighting position. The blacksmith raised his hands up in a defensive manner, not meaning to cause any harm to Raymond. Once the black haired man saw this, he eventually calmed down and lowered his hands down to his sides, a sigh of relief escaping past his lips.

"Are you okay there, kid? I thought I lost you for a second there." The blacksmith nervously commented.

"Oh...ah...I'm sorry about that. I was lost in thought for a second there." Raymond regained his composure and looked to the blacksmith with a blank expression. It had been quite some time since he had experienced such a feeling of dread.

"It must have been one hell of thought for you to make such a grim expression." The blacksmith stated, keeping a close eye on the black haired man.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Raymond apologized for his rude behavior.

"Well…alright then. Now back onto the topic of the sword here." The blacksmith nudged his head toward the sword. Raymond stared blankly at the old man for a moment, finding it hard to believe that the greedy man still wished to continue trying to sell him stuff despite the awkward moment that had occurred measly seconds ago.

All the feelings of guilt that Raymond held towards the man were now gone. He no longer felt any shame in openly declaring, "I don't have any money. I can't buy any of the weapons or equipment that you have shown me here today."

After those fatal words entered the ears of the Blacksmith, his expression grew dark. A chill traveled down Raymond's spine at that exact moment. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he felt like he needed to get out of the weapon shop as soon as possible.

"What…what do you mean you don't have any money?" The blacksmith asked in a rather harsh tone. A dark atmosphere seemed to loom over the entire room.

"It's exactly as I explained to you. I don't have any money. And as such, I can't buy anything that you're trying to sell me." Raymond reluctantly explained to the blacksmith again.

"You're messing with me, right? Aren't you a noble? Aren't you rich?" The blacksmith slowly approached Raymond, his eye slowly turning red with anger.

"I'm not a noble. And I'm far from rich." Raymond slowly backed away from the blacksmith until he tripped over an anvil and fell onto the ground. The moment he looked up, the blacksmith was looming over him.

"You're not just trying to screw me over are you? Those clothes certainly belong to a noble." The blacksmith pressed his finger against the insignia on Raymond's shirt. "This insignia belongs to the Hollostein Family. You're a member, aren't you?"

Raymond paused for a moment. This was his chance to get out of this situation safely. He could try and lie his way out of the situation. He could simply reply with a yes and that he was a noble. But after remembering that he had claimed not to be one, that idea was immediately tossed out the window. Now he didn't have much time left. The blacksmith's glare only seemed to intensify. If he waited any longer, certainly the old man would figure out that something was up.

He simply decided to just come out and tell the truth. Or at least some version of it. "No, I am not a member of the Hollostein Family. I'm just wearing their clothes after…finding them."

"Ah…so you're simply wearing the discarded clothes of a noble. I should have known There's no way I could be that lucky." The blacksmith backed away from Raymond and heaved a heavy sigh of disappointment. He had heard of situations where people would wear discarded clothes of nobles and pretend to be them in order to get free things such as merchandise and food. The old man never imagined that he would fall victim to just a scam.

But then again it was not like Raymond was scamming him in the first place. The blacksmith immediately realized that it was all his fault for jumping to conclusions. His greed clouded his judgement and he took some precious time out of Raymond's day. He needed to find some way to repay him for his rudeness today.

"I'm sorry if inconvenienced in any way." The blacksmith extended his hand out, offering to help Raymond back up onto his feet. The young man accepted the offer and grabbed a hold of the man's hand, quickly getting pulled up to his feet.

"It's no problem. You did help me out with those goons earlier. So I can easily forgive you for practically kidnapping and trying to forcibly make me purchase your merchandise." Raymond sheepishly accepted the apology, receiving an awkward laugh from the blacksmith in response.

"How about we restart everything and have a proper introduction? My name is Hephaestus." Hephaestus introduced himself.

"I'm Raymond. Raymond Everett. It's nice to meet you." Raymond returned the favor and introduced himself.

"So tell me, what are you doing here?" Hephaestus asked.

"I'm here to gather a few supplies like food, clothing, things like that." Raymond answered.

Finding something odd about his statement, Hephaestus once again looked at Raymond, gauging him for some reason. "How do you plan on gathering such supplies when you don't even have any money? What do you need those supplies for anyway? You some sort of traveler?"

"Somewhat…" Raymond decided to keep things vague. He had no idea of how the old man felt about pirates. "Since I don't have any money, I figured that I would find some way of getting a job. I would then use the money from that job and buy all of the supplies that I need."

"Well you don't seem to be in any kind of rush. It could take you days to gather up enough money to purchase all of those supplies for your adventure."

"I guess I could stay here for a few days. But I am in a rush. I'm with a friend of mine and he isn't the type that likes to dillydally."

Hephaestus crossed his arms over his chest and raised his head. "Well…if you're looking for a job, I guess I could give you one as an apology for my rude actions earlier."

Raymond's face immediately brightened up after hearing those kind words from the elderly blacksmith. "Thank you so much, Hephaestus! You're really doing me a huge favor here!"

"Don't go thanking me just yet. I won't be able to pay you as much if you don't manage to find any business for me."

"Business? Why are you having trouble finding any business? Your weapons are amazing. They should be selling quite well if you ask me." Raymond gave his input. Since he didn't have any money, it was obvious as to why he didn't take any of the weapons. But if he did, then he would take a few of them, despite not being the weapons type of person.

"It's because of those goons that you encountered earlier." Hephaestus took a seat on a nearby crate and heaved a sigh of exhaustion. Remembering back to all of the times those goons had appeared at his shop, harassing him and all of his potential customers.

"Oh, those three stooges? How could those three interfere with your business? You didn't seem intimidated by them in the slightest earlier." Raymond mentioned.

"I'm not intimidated by them at all. But my other customers are. They're terrified of those men because of the organization that they belong to." Hephaestus answered, his face making a grim expression once again. "This entire town is ruled by an organization known as Nefarious Cage. They're a slave trading group. They normally go around kidnapping people from different races or even exotic animals and sell them off as slaves for a high price."

"Nefarious Cage…" Raymond's expression went grim as well after repeating the name of the organization. He felt a great wave of anger raging through his body. The intense aura exerting from his body could be sensed and even visualized by Hephaestus.

"Have you heard of them?" Hephaestus unconsciously felt the need to ask.

"Heard of them? Oh yes…I'm far more acquainted with them than you even realize." Raymond chuckled menacingly while cupping his hands together. "So tell me, how did such an organization become the rulers of this town? Aren't slave trade organizations meant to be illegal? Why haven't the marines done anything to subdue them?"

"The reason for that is…Nefarious Cage has been approved by the World Government. It's a legitimate business now." Hephaestus informed him, taking immediate notice of the surprised expression on Raymond's face. He couldn't blame him for being surprised. Anyone would be if they found out that a slave trade organization was considered legal by the World Government.

"And how did that come to happen?" Raymond somehow managed to contain his anger long enough to ask that question.

"Nefarious Cage is an organization well-liked by the World Nobles. So much that anyone within the organization is pardoned for their crimes of slavery for as long as they continue to provide high quality slaves." Hephaestus continued with his explanation. "Fishmen, Giants, Minks, you name it, Nefarious Cage have captured strong members from each race and personally sold them off to the World Nobles for large sums of money."

Raymond sat down on a nearby crate as well, trying to process all of the information that had been given to him by the elderly blacksmith. So far he had gathered that no matter what Nefarious Cage did, no matter who or what they captured, as long as they proved to be high quality slaves the World Nobles and World Government would pardon them for their crimes. Now everything had begun to make sense to him. It was situations like these that made him despise the World Nobles and the World Government. They allowed cold-hearted criminals like slave traders openly operate as much as they please without having to suffer any consequences.

He could already picture the hundreds, possibly even thousands of lives that this organization must have ruined during their operations. They were allowed to run wild, kidnapping and selling off anyone that they pleased. He couldn't allow this to run any longer. He wouldn't allow this to run any longer. Since he wished to destroy the World Government and the World Nobles, he might as well destroy the organizations affiliated with them to help cripple their power a little bit.

"This is such a perfect opportunity." Raymond muttered.

"What was that?" Hephaestus leaned forward, trying to make out what Raymond had just said.

"I said that this is such a perfect opportunity." Raymond stood to his feet, a sinister expression plastered onto his face, unnerving Hephaestus. "I'm going to destroy Nefarious Cage. Tell me where their base of operation is."

"What?" Hephaestus shot up to his feet, exclaiming in surprise after hearing such a bold proclamation coming from the young man he had just met. "Listen kid, I know that you're upset after hearing everything that I've just told you, but you can't go around saying outrageous things like that. Despite how despicable they are, Nefarious Cage are a legal business sponsored by the World Nobles. Defying them is like defying the World Nobles. That is the one absolute rule that everyone in this world is forbidden from doing."

Raymond scoffed in response to Hephaestus' words, earning a sharp glare from the old man. He couldn't care less about defying the World Nobles. In fact, he had already done that several days ago. But of course Hephaestus had no way of knowing about that.

"That sounds a little hypocritical coming from you, old man. Didn't you throw those men out from your shop earlier since they didn't have any money? In way you defied them. So didn't you indirectly defy the World Nobles?" Raymond countered, watching in amusement as Hephaestus was taken aback by his words at that moment.

"That was different!" Hephaestus angrily exclaimed even though he couldn't come up with a good explanation for his actions since he knew that Raymond was correct.

"Tell me old man…what do you think about Nefarious Cage?" Raymond suddenly asked, giving the blacksmith a unique stare as if he were looking into the man's very essence, his soul.

"I think they're a bunch of self-righteous bastards that are simply riding on the coattails of the World Nobles to get ahead in life. To be honest with you, I wouldn't care if they disappeared for good from the world." Hephaestus answered.

There was a brief moment of silence in the room. The two men continued to stare each other down. Raymond closed his eyes and processed the words said to him before nodding his head in confirmation. He could feel it. Hephaestus wasn't lying. His words were genuine.

"Then you have no complaints for when I destroy them." Raymond continued with his topic of destroying the organization.

"You're still going on about doing that? Don't be ridiculous kid! You're no match for such an organization!" Hephaestus informed him, desperately trying to convince the young man to cease with his rash thinking. "They have the backing of the World Nobles and World Government. If you by some miracle destroy them, you'll only anger the ones sponsoring their actions. You'll become a wanted criminal."

"Ah, I'm already a criminal." Raymond bluntly stated.

"What?!" Hephaestus jumped back in shock.

"Sorry for telling you this so late into meeting you, but I am a criminal. Or rather, a soon to be criminal. You may not be aware of this, but I am an escaped slave." Raymond informed him before he turned around and removed his shirt, feeling no shame in revealing the slave mark on his back. Hephaestus once again let out another shriek of shock after seeing such a mark. He recognized it all too well.

"The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon. The crest of the World Nobles." Hephaestus mumbled, staring intensely at the mark. "So you were once a slave of the World Nobles?"

"Yeah, that was the case until a few days ago. A buddy of mine and I have escaped from them and now we're on the run." Raymond turned back around to face the blacksmith, putting his shirt back on in the process. "And while on the run I plan on pissing them off for as long as possible until I gather up a massive crew strong enough to someday destroy the World Government, the Marines, and the World Nobles. Since that is one of my dreams, I might as well defeat any organization affiliated with them."

Hephaestus was too stunned to even properly respond to Raymond any further. At first he thought he was a simple, gullible noble that he could manipulate into buying some of his merchandise. Then he believed he was a penniless traveler. But now he finally learned the truth. The man was a former slave of the World Nobles that planned to destroy them some day. Such a declaration alone was more than enough for the World Government to issue out a bounty on him and then have him executed upon capture. But somehow Raymond was alive and there was no mention of his escape or bounty placed on him yet.

He didn't want to get involved with this man. He couldn't afford to get involved with this man. It was far too dangerous. Anyone caught harboring an escaped slave of the World Nobles would be branded as criminals and possibly executed or worse…being turned into slaves themselves.

"You need to get out of here…right now!" Hephaestus glared at Raymond.

"Kicking me out now are you? Oh well, I understand. You don't want to get in trouble." Raymond shrugged his shoulders, feeling in different about Hephaestus treating him rather harshly now. It wasn't like he could blame him. He knew exactly what the old man was thinking.

"Listen, I have nothing against you kid. But I cannot afford to be brought down because of you." Hephaestus clenched his hands into fists and looked down to the floor. "If you wish to continue with your dreams of destroying the World Nobles or whatever, I will not stop you. But you need to take into consideration the repercussions of your actions. If the World Nobles figure out that you're here, they will not hesitate to send Admirals here to burn this entire island to the ground. Simply talking to me is endangering my life as well as the lives of others."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right about that." Raymond nodded his head in understanding of the situation, realizing that the blacksmith was indeed correct with his statement. "Okay, well I promise I'll get out of your hair. But before that, can you do me a huge favor?"

"No I cannot! Do you understand what will happen if I help you and the World Government finds out about this?" Hephaestus angrily shouted.

"Relax old man, it's nothing too serious." Raymond removed his shirt again and turned his back to the blacksmith, revealing his slave mark once again. "I just want you to brand something over my mark."

"You want me to hide your slave mark?" Hephaestus quietly murmured, knowing that doing such a thing was forbidden. He had heard that freed slaves would immediately put some sort of mark over their slave mark as a way to conceal their statuses as slaves.

"Hide it? No way. I don't want to do anything like that." Raymond shook his head defiantly, confusing the blacksmith in the process.

"Wait, what? You don't want to hide your slave mark?"

"No, I don't. It is true that this slave mark is my greatest shame and that I will always carry it on my back for the rest of my life. This mark signifies that I am "less than human". So I wish to regain a bit of my "humanity" by placing a mark over this one. Not to conceal it, but to empower it. Others would seek to hide their shame and forget that they were once slaves. Well not me. Knowing that I was a slave fuels my desire to see to it that they are dragged down to hell where they belong."

"Oh my god..." Hephaestus spoke softly.

"Do you have a cross out branding iron?" Raymond turned around and looked to the blacksmith with pleading eyes. Hephaestus clicked his tongue and looked around for the branding iron, deciding to simply get this over with so that the young man could leave his store for good and never come back to bother him. He eventually found one and showed it to the young man.

"Is this the one you're referring to?" Hephaestus sighed.

Raymond looked to the branding iron and smiled. "Yeah, that's the one I'm talking about. I want you to brand my back. Put it over my current slave mark. It shall be the Jolly Roger of my pirate crew."

"Pirate crew? You escape from horrid life of a slave and yet you wish to become a pirate instead of going into hiding?" Hephaestus was flummoxed by Raymond's logic. Any sane person would go into hiding for the rest of their lives after escaping from the World Nobles. But not Raymond. He was doing something idiotic and becoming a pirate instead. The blacksmith wanted to call him out on his stupidity and recklessness, but he decided against it. No longer wanting to involve himself with that man after branding him.

"Don't you start to lecture me too. I already get enough crap from my First Mate." Raymond dropped down onto his knees and showed his back to the blacksmith. "Just stick the branding iron in the fire for a little bit and then brand me. After that I will leave your shop."

"You'd better. If anyone finds out what I've done for you so far, I'm a dead man." Hephaestus reluctantly followed Raymond's orders and placed the branding iron in the flames within the fireplace. He kept it in there for a few minutes before pulling it out and pressing it against Raymond's skin without warning. He had expected the young man to holler out and writhe in pain. But that never happened. There was no reaction from him whatsoever.

Even Raymond was surprised by this. His heart was racing moments ago before the hot piece of iron touched his skin. He could hear the sound of his flesh being burned by the hot piece of iron, but there was no pain strangely enough.

"You're certainly an odd one. No doubt that Jolly Roger of yours will make you an enemy of the entire world. I don't feel sorry for anyone that dares to sail under the flag that carries such a symbol as their Jolly Roger." Hephaestus removed the branding iron from Raymond's back and he stared intensely at the new symbol now placed there. Certainly the World Government would capture and execute anyone that raised a pirate flag with a symbol of the World Nobles crossed out.

"Finished already are you, old man? Does it look cool? Tell me! Does it look cool?!" Raymond constantly looked over his shoulders, trying his best to get a good view of the new symbol placed on his back.

"I don't know if I would use the word "cool" to describe that symbol. To be honest, you could have chosen a more traditional symbol. Like the classic skull and cross bones for instance." Hephaestus mentioned, soon coming to regret saying such words. He was beginning to return to his casual manner of speech.

"Traditional is boring. Sometimes simplicity is key. I've decided to use a simple symbol unthinkable by most pirates. This symbol is a clear sign of my goals. Anyone that lays their eyes on this symbol will know who I am and what I am after." Raymond proudly stood to his feet, placing his shirt back on. "Thank you for your help old man. As promised, I will get out of your hair."

Raymond turned to Hephaestus and bowed his head out of respect for the old man. He knew how troubling and dangerous it must have been for him to do such a thing, so he planned to no longer cause any further trouble for him than he already had. He raised his head and then bid farewell to the old man before finally leaving the weapon shop.

Once Raymond had left, Hephaestus sat back down on the crate and heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Despite the things he had done today, he had hoped that nothing else would happen to him. So far no one on the island besides him knew that Raymond was an escaped slave. As long as no one found out such crucial information and the young man somehow managed to leave the island without causing some kind of ruckus, then he would be in the clear of any future trouble that the young man was certainly going to cause. The smart thing to do would be to call the marines and inform them about his location so that they could capture him. But the old man wasn't going to do that. He wanted to completely wash his hands of the situation. No matter what happened from here on out, he was not going to get involved.

"That damn kid…he's just as troublesome as the other brat that crossed paths with Nefarious Cage a few days ago." He sighed and looked up at the stone ceiling. "I wonder how she's doing by the way. Hmmm…probably dead by now. No one messes with them and gets away with it."

* * *

Meanwhile outside of the weapon shop, Raymond continued to leisurely stroll down the street of the large town, whistling a joyous tune to himself. It had already gotten quite dark since he first set foot on this island. So he needed to find a place to sleep for the night. But of course the issue of money came up again. He had none. He didn't have a job either. Clearly no one would be willing to hire him at this point in time, not at this time of night. But Raymond wasn't too worried about this. He simply continued with his stroll and headed towards the docks.

He couldn't wait to show Jaw the new mark on his back. The symbol that their crew would use as their Jolly Roger to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. He could see it now, future enemies falling by his feet in sheer awe of such a dangerous symbol. He knew that using such a symbol as a Jolly Roger would immediately incite the wrath of the entire world. But he didn't care about that at all. As far as he was concerned, the world could go ahead and go to hell considering the organizations that were running it. He was going to be the man that would destroy those organizations. So in essence, he was going to destroy the world.

The new symbol on his back was the symbol of his defiance. His defiance against the World Nobles. His defiance against the World Government. His defiance against the Marines. His defiance against the whole damn world. It was beginning. His plans for revenge were about to begin. It had not been long since his escape and he already had the opportunity to land a blow against the World Nobles. It happened a lot sooner than he had initially expected, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Nefarious Cage. It's been years since I've heard that name. I remember it quite well in fact..." Raymond menacingly spoke to no one in particular. "I remember that I've been cursing that wretched organization every day since I've become a slave. It's not every day you get the chance to crush the very organization that captured and sold you off as a slave to the World Nobles in the first place. I look forward to crushing them beneath my feet. They will be my first stepping stone towards my goal to greatness and revenge."

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are only three spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	10. The Nefarious Cage Trio!

**The Nefarious Cage Trio!**

* * *

Hours after having been chased off by Raymond Everett and the blacksmith Hephaestus, the three goons ran towards their base of operations on the island. It was a large three-story building with their symbol located painted on the front. The logo featured a large cage with two smileys trapped inside, one smiling and the other frowning. Once inside of the building, they entered into the main hall, which resembles a large pub. A large number of people affiliated with the organization were in the middle of some sort of celebration. Loud music was playing, female dancers that were clearly slaves were being forced to dance on the small stage centered to the far left of the room for the entertainment of others. The three goons would have loved to join their comrades in the celebration, but they decided against it and focused their attention on the problem at hand.

They hurriedly walked up the stairs until they reached the third floor, making sure not to make a scene by interacting with their comrades. They did not want them to know of the situation that had occurred hours ago. It would have been truly embarrassing for them to have the others learn of their humiliation of being unable to threaten two measly people out of their money. Although frightened of what they had to do next, it was something that had to be done. They were members of Nefarious Cage, an infamous organization that was backed by the World Nobles and also the World Government. Any normal person would cower in fear after hearing their name. But that wasn't the case for Raymond and Hephaestus.

Those two didn't seem frightened by the goons in the slightest. At first it surprised them. It seemed impossible for anyone not to be afraid of them. But for some reason the situation was turned back around on them. After confronting Raymond and attempting to extort some money out of him, the goons were shocked once that single man struck fear into their bodies. The surprising thing was that he didn't even do anything to them. He simply stood there with a menacing expression once they threatened to turn him into a slave.

It was a shocking experience for them. The only people that ever made them so frightened for their lives with just an expression alone was their boss and his top subordinates. Since Raymond was capable of making them experience such overwhelming fear, they immediately understood that they would not be able to defeat him. They were ashamed to admit it, but they were incredibly weak when compared to other members of the organization. So they had no hope of dealing with Raymond themselves. But they were more than confident that their boss could do it.

Their boss was the strongest person on the island. No one could hope to match his powers and strength. A few days ago someone had tried to defeat him, but he proved to be too much for the young woman to deal with alone. If the goons managed to play their cards right, they could convince their boss to deal with Raymond and Hephaestus. Although they were not high up the ladder enough to even make a request from their boss to do such a thing, they figured that they could twist a few words around and misuse some information to convince him to make a move.

The goons eventually reached the top floor. Up ahead was a long hallway with only a single door at the end of it. However, set a few feet in front of the door was a single desk with a woman placed in front of it. The men approached the woman and requested to speak with the boss. The woman looked at them with a puzzled expression, having never seen the three men before. She was a high ranking member of this branch of the Nefarious Cage, so when compared to them, it was only natural that she would be suspicious of them. This certain branch of the organization contained at least two hundred members, so it was rather impossible for her to learn the names and faces of all members.

So in order to clear up any misunderstandings, the three men showed her their identification cards. After confirming their identities as members of the organization, the woman inquired if they had gone through the proper channels to conduct business on the third floor. If they had done this, then she would have received a call ahead of time about their arrival. But of course the men lied about this. If what she meant by proper channels was by walking up the stairs, then yes, they had done just that. Initially not trusting them, the woman requested for the men to leave and come back another time. After all, their boss was a busy man and he couldn't afford to waste any time with people that she considered to be useless.

Unfortunately, the men were adamant on meeting with the boss. At first when the men began to approach her, the woman reached within her desk and placed her hand on her flintlock pistol. She was more than prepared to shoot them down right then and there if they did not comply with her demands. But what she wasn't prepared for was when the three men suddenly dropped down to their knees and front of her desk and desperately pleaded for her to let them pass. There was a moment of awkward silence. The secretary needed some time to properly process what was happening before her. This had been the first time any man had been desperate enough to actually bow down and lower their heads before her. It was really pathetic, but also somewhat pleasing to watch.

The secretary eventually gave into the demands of the men and allowed them passage into the next room. The three men gathered their resolve and entered into the next room where their boss resided.

Upon entering the room, the three men were shocked to see their boss and his two top subordinates standing around a large cage where a woman wrapped up in chains resided. The boss was standing in between his top subordinates. His name is "The Inescapable" Johnathan Cage. He is a tall, muscular, and imposing man, standing at a height of 6'1ft". He has blue eyes and long, light brown hair that drops down just a little bit past his shoulders. The man is currently wearing a black bandana on his forehead with a pair of red tinted goggles worn over that, a fur-trimmed sleeveless jacket with the logo of Nefarious Cage imprinted on the front, a pair of dark pants, and shoes.

The man standing to the left of him is "Boss Toad Bandit" Buffa. He is a rather large and extremely obese bald man, standing at a height of at most 8ft. He is currently wearing a pair of blue, baggy pants and black shoes. Unfortunately, the man was not wearing a shirt, disgusting the three men that were unfortunate enough to see his scared belly out in the open. Almost immediately they wanted to express their disgust, but they knew that the man was very self-conscious about his weight and it was well known that he would kill anyone that dared to insult or make fun of him.

The man standing to the right of the boss is "Swift Sword" Ryker. He is a slim man standing at a height of 5'9ft. He has pale skin and long, wavy black hair that falls over his face. He is currently wearing black muscle shirt with a cape draped over his right shoulder, a pair of light grey pants, and brown boots. He also carries around a cutlass on his right hip.

And finally, the female being held in the cage in the center of the room is Kaida Fae. She is a pale girl standing at a height of 5ft. She has short, straight blue hair with silver streaks that end just below her ears and it slightly covers the left side of her face. She has dichromatic eyes; her right eye is crimson red while her left eye is royal purple. She is currently wearing a hooded black t-shirt with sleeves that end at the shoulders and a silver crescent moon necklace worn over neck. A pair of black fingerless gloves that come up to her elbows with a thin red ribbon tied in a crisscross pattern on the upper portion, a pair of black pants with a red sash tied loosely around her waist and a thin red ribbon tied in a crisscross pattern around her leg, and finally a pair of black combat boots.

"What do you want? We're very busy at the moment." Cage looked to the three men with an irritated expression. In the man's hand is a katana with a cobalt blue scabbard with thin obsidian swirls starting at the top and curling around until reaching the bottom, forming a simple yet elegant skull design in the middle on both sides of it. The guard is a plain silver star shape that points slightly curled clockwise. The tsukamaki of the sword is white.

"Whatever it is, it had better be important. We're in the middle of some serious business here." Buffa was the next one to speak up. He took a drag of his pipe and then looked to Kaida with an arrogant smirk. He leaned forward and blew a large puff of smoke into the girl's face. In spite of being chained up and gagged, the young girl angrily kicked the bars of the cage, much to the amusement of the men.

The three men exchanged quick glances with one another, unsure of how to proceed. It was embarrassing to admit their humiliation before their bosses, but they felt like it needed to be done. They were disrespected by Raymond and Hephaestus. If they were disrespected, then that means everyone belonging to the Nefarious Cage organization was disrespected. They did not wish to allow such disrespect to go unpunished.

The first man nervously stepped forward and spoke, "Boss. There was a problem at the weapon shop a few hours ago. We went to the weapon shop to collect some weapons as you had instructed, but the owner refused to hand over any of the weapons without payment from us."

"That old man is still being stingy is he?" Cage didn't seem to shocked or upset about the results. He handed the katana over to Ryker before he wandered over to his desk, taking a seat and then propping his feet on top of it. "I guess it's only natural for him to act that way. After all, I wouldn't like it if someone wandered into my business and then tried to force me to hand over my merchandise for free."

"But that old man needs to understand that we're the rulers of this town. And as such, he should simply bow his head and hand over whatever we demand from him." Buffa arrogantly said, looking away from the cage for a moment. "We need those weapons as soon as possible. No other weapon shop on this island have any good quality weapons like that old man's shop."

"We should just force him to hand over his weapons." Ryker suggested. "We've been far too lenient as of late. If we allow even a single person to disobey our direct orders without suffering some form of consequence, then that only makes us look weak. And you know that we don't want to look weak in front of the World Nobles."

"That's true…" Cage reclined back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. "I was trying to be nice and allowed the old man to do as he pleased since I like to respect my elders. But respect is a two-way street. If he refuses to respect me, then I will not respect him."

"There's also more, boss." The second man spoke up this time around. "There was another man that disrespected us along with the old man. He seemed to be some kind of noble. He was helping the old man keep us collecting any weapons."

"When we mentioned who we were and why we were there, the noble simply dismissed and chased us off." The third man mentioned, telling only a small fraction of the truth to his boss.

"A noble?" Buffa furrowed his eyebrows. "What the hell does some noble think he's doing coming here of all places? Disrespecting us and our organization?"

"How odd. Usually nobles would cower in fear after hearing the mention of our organization. It's not every day that an organization like ours is favored by the World Nobles and secretly allowed by the World Government." Ryker mentioned. "We possess a lot of power and influence. And yet some noble ignored that."

"He must not be any ordinary noble." Cage cut his way back into the conversation, looking over to his subordinates with a stern expression. "Perhaps this person has a lot of power and influence as well that we are unaware about. But that doesn't matter. There are no other nobles in this world that have more power than the World Nobles. That is a fact."

"So should we go and pay this noble person a visit then?" Buffa looked to Cage with a sinister expression. He took another drag of his pipe while daydreaming about punishing Raymond.

"One thing at a time, Buffa. One thing at a time. We already have a busy enough schedule as it is." Cage stood up from his chair and smiled at the eagerness shown by his comrade. His eyes shifted over to the cage where Kaida was still struggling to escape from her restraints. "We still need to find that little mutt that was accompanying that girl. The World Nobles will be here soon and we need to make sure that everything is perfectly prepared when that arrive. If there's even one mistake, it could mean the end of us and our entire organization."

"I still don't understand what's so important about that mutt. Why do the World Nobles even want that thing in the first place? What's so special about it?" Buffa inquired.

"Never question the World Nobles, Buffa. That will certainly get you killed." Ryker called out to the obese man. "Simply follow orders and complete them. That's how you get ahead in life. Or do you wish to return to the mountains? Scrounging and raiding villages for simple supplies like food?"

The atmosphere in the room grew dark after Ryker called out Buffa. The three men began to sweat profusely as Buffa stared down Ryker. It appeared that the two of them would have attacked each other at any moment had it not been for the intervention of their boss.

"Alright, that's enough joking around you two. No fighting in front of our guests." Cage referred to Kaida and the three men. "This is what's going to happen. We're going to send some men to search around the entire island for the mutt. If the World Nobles want it so bad, we will give it to them. That is the number one rule of this organization. Whatever they want, we give it to them."

"Understood." Buffa and Ryker nodded their heads in understanding.

"What about the old man and the noble, boss?" The first man inquired.

"Don't worry about them. They are the least of your concerns." Cage answered before pointing at the men. "Go out and inform the men about their mission to search the entire island for a black wolf. I want it found and brought to me as early as tomorrow. Failure is not an option. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, boss!" The three men rushed out of the room immediately.

"Such eagerness…" Ryker commented after watching the men finally leave the room.

"I like that in subordinates." Cage mentioned.

"So what are we going to do about the old man and the noble?" Buffa asked.

"We're going to take care of them personally. No one disrespects us. Not some old man. And especially not some noble." Cage answered. "We're going to pay the old man a visit first since we know where he is. And perhaps we'll be able to find out some information about the noble from him."

"I wonder if we should capture them and sell them off as slaves to the World Nobles as a prize. Perhaps they'll give us an even bigger reward than previously discussed." Buffa's eyes sparkled at the thought of being paid more money by the World Nobles.

"We're only meant to sell high quality slaves. An old man and some noble are hardly considered to be high quality." Ryker immediately shot down Buffa's suggestion, believing it to be quite idiotic.

"I guess you're right. Then how about we make them our slaves instead of the woman over here?" Buffa's attention was brought back over to Kaida. "She's young and a capable swordsman. Other than that there isn't much of anything else interesting about her besides her eye color and her mutt. She won't do well as a sex slave since she's so flat-chested."

Kaida glared daggers at the obese man before she angrily began to kick at the bars again. Buffa laughed at her futile attempts to escape and then continued to speak with his comrades.

"How long do we have until the World Nobles arrive anyway?"

"Three days." Cage answered. "I called them earlier and informed them that we had the wolf. So we'll have to entrust the mission of finding it to our men. I don't want to be made a liar in front of the World Nobles." The man came out from behind his desk and stood in front of the cage, sneering at the captured girl.

"You've caused us a bit of trouble, young lady. That wolf was finally within our grasp until you had to come along and screw everything up for us." Although Cage sounded calm and collected, his body language said otherwise. Veins of anger were slowly protruding their way onto his forehead. "If we don't find that wolf by the time the World Nobles arrive. I assure you that it will be your head up on the chopping block. Not ours."

"And thank you for the new sword by the way." Ryker decided to jump on in on the taunting. "I think this is a O Wazamono Grade Sword. It brings me great joy to have such a prestigious sword within my possession now."

"You should be grateful that you're still even alive. Not many people have messed with our organization and lived to tell the tale about it." Buffa added, blowing more smoke into the young girl's face. "Well, I guess you won't be alive for much longer. Once the World Nobles get their hands on you, it's over."

"Come along now, gentlemen. Let's go and pay that old man a visit and see if we can't convince him to see things our way." Cage ordered. The three men soon left the room, laughing menacingly as they planned to do horrendous things to Hephaestus if the old man planned not to submit to their demands.

* * *

Meanwhile on his way back towards the port of the island, Raymond found himself being forced to take several detours around the town. He didn't know what was happening, but there were dozens of men that belonged to Nefarious Cage frantically running around the island as if they were in search of something. Since he immediately thought that they were searching for him, he was forced to take many detours and hide in unusual places in order to remain unseen. He wasn't afraid of them or anything. But he did promise Jaw that he wouldn't do anything stupid. Although he figured he broke that promise a long time ago. Either way, getting back to his First Mate was going to prove to be very difficult.

The Nefarious Cage members were everywhere. Every time he turned a street corner, there would be dozens of them looking around the area for something. They were searching through alleyways, houses, under rocks and piles of trash. It weirded him out how thorough they were being with their search. Did he piss them off so bad that they really needed this many people to find him? He didn't expect something like this to happen to him until much later. Oh well, he planned to make the best of the situation.

Since the entire organization appeared to be mobilized to find him. He planned to take advantage of this situation and find out where their headquarters is so that he could destroy it while it was completely empty. He could already picture the look on their faces when they returned to see their base reduced to ruin while he proudly stood on top of it. It was going to be a great way to make a name for himself. Taking down this branch of Nefarious Cage would certainly reach the ears of the higher ups and especially the World Nobles.

Raymond was brought back to reality once he heard whimpers coming from somewhere nearby. He looked around for a moment and then wandered down the nearest alleyway. Fortunately for him, there was no members of Nefarious Cage in sight. So it was safe for him to search this area for the source of the whimpers. He eventually found himself kneeling down next to a garbage can. There was a stack of newspapers vigorously shaking in one spot. He removed the newspapers and jumped back at the sight of a small, black wolf pup jumping out at him.

The black wolf pup sank its teeth into his pants and then began to tug on it as hard as it could. Raymond stared blankly at this scene, unsure of how to deal with the situation at the moment. He looked around the alleyway to try and discern as to where the wolf pup could have possibly come from. There wasn't a forest or jungle area on this island as far as he was concerned. So the only logical explanation was that it must have belonged to someone. But unfortunately, finding the proper owner of the pup would be difficult since there wasn't a collar on it anywhere.

He reached up and lifted the wolf pup off the ground by the back of its neck. The pup thrashed about, still trying to bite Raymond despite its current position. Raymond couldn't help but chuckle, finding the enthusiasm displayed by the pup to be rather amusing. He was so caught up in the moment that he failed to realize the number of men entering their way into the alleyway. They were only brought to his attention once the pup looked to and growled at the approaching men.

"Hey! Drop that wolf! It belongs to us!" One of the men called out to Raymond.

Raymond looked back and forth between the wolf and the men. He raised his finger and poked the wolf before saying, "Wolf? You mean this one right here?"

Poking the wolf soon proved to be a mistake on his part. The wolf opened its mouth and sank its teeth into his hand. Raymond exclaimed loudly and then shook his hand, trying to get the wolf to release his hand from its mouth.

"Yeah! That one!" Another man replied, trying his best not to laugh at Raymond after watching the spectacle.

"What are you guys doing with a wolf? How come it doesn't have a collar on?" Raymond continued to question the men. He knew that the wolf didn't belong to them. And even if it did, he still wouldn't have returned it to them.

"Does it matter? Just hand over the mutt or else you're going to get seriously hurt!" One of the men approached Raymond and attempted to snatch the wolf away from him. Unfortunately, the man was rendered unconscious once Raymond used his free hand to land a swift uppercut across the man's chin.

All of the other man watched in shock as one of their comrades was struck down so easily by Raymond. All of them grabbed a hold of their respective weapons and rushed him. Refusing to allow Raymond to leave the alleyway alive after attacking their defenseless comrade. Despite the small handicap with the wolf pup occupying one of his hands, Raymond was still capable of making quick work of the charging opponents.

He moved swiftly around the alleyway, striking down most of them with quick and effective punches, elbow, and knee strikes. His adrenaline began to rise; he didn't even feel the dog chomping away at his hand anyone. He wanted to fight some more. He needed more enemies to come his way. Unfortunately, by the time he finally came to his senses, all of his enemies had been defeated. He lowered his fist down to his side and let out a sigh of disappointment. He had forgotten that he was simply going up against grunts. They certainly wouldn't be able to provide much of a challenge for him.

"You guys are terrible. How do you even manage to get anything done if you're this weak?" Raymond complained, wandering through the alleyway of fallen men, still trying to get the wolf off his hand. Once succeeding, he glanced down to the only man still conscious among the fallen men. He placed his foot down on the man's chest and smiled. "Alright buddy, since you're the only one that seems to be conscious out of all your friends here, you're going to be the lucky one that answers my questions. Listen carefully now, because here are the two questions that I want you to answer for me. Question number one, why is your organization after this wolf? And question number two, where is your base of operations?"

"Who are you?" The man groaned in pain. Not liking that the first thing that came out of the man's mouth wasn't the answer that he was looking for, Raymond increased the pressure held down on the man's chest.

"Bzzzt! Wrong answer! Try again, buddy! If the next things out of your mouth aren't the answers I'm looking for, my foot will smash through your rib cage and crush your heart. And believe me when I say that you don't want that to happen." He warned him for the last time.

"Okay! Okay! I don't know all of the details, but apparently the World Nobles sent out an order for our boss to capture that wolf for some reason! Whatever the World Nobles want, we from Nefarious Cage ensure that it is given to them! That's the number one rule of this organization!" The man answered the first question. Raymond smiled at this and then motioned for the man to hurry up and answer the second question. "Our headquarters is located at the center of the town. It's the largest building with our symbol painted on the front of it. You can't miss it!"

"See? Now was that so hard?" Raymond removed his foot from the man's chest. He then struck the downed man across the face with his foot, immediately rendering the poor man unconscious. Once the man was knocked out, Raymond looked to the wolf still in his hand and said, "So all of this fuss is about you, huh? I wonder what makes you so special. Hey, what do you say to coming with me to their headquarters? I'm interested in seeing what their boss has to say about you."

The wolf pup simply growled and snarled at Raymond in response, more than prepared to attack him again if he didn't set it back down anytime soon. Raymond immediately interpreted this response as a yes and he forcibly brought the wolf along with him as he headed towards the center of the town. He believed that his mission to destroy the organization was going to be over in a matter of hours since he didn't see anyone within the group that could potentially provide him with a decent challenge. Although he had only encountered the grunts so far. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He had complete confidence in his abilities to take down everyone within the organization on his own. And he was looking forward to proving it.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it! The OC Kaida Fae belongs to PirateDragons121! Thank you so much for the character submission, I really appreciate it! I would also like to announce that in less than ten chapters, I've managed to get 50 reviews, which of course makes me very happy. I would like to thank all my readers and reviewers. Hopefully by the next ten chapters I can reach up to 100 reviews. Here's hoping! XD**

 **Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are only three spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmsman-?**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	11. Bringing The House Down!

**Bringing The House Down!**

* * *

Johnathan Cage, Buffa, and Ryker, the three leading members of this branch of Nefarious Cage were heading towards Hephaestus' weapon shop. Earlier they had been informed that the owner of the shop had once again refused to lend over his weapons to lower ranked members of their organization. The first few times that had happened, the situation had been resolved once they returned with money the next time, no big deal. But some unfortunate turn of events occurred and the branch of Nefarious Cage underwent some financial trouble. So of course they could no longer afford to pay for the high price weapons. But it still didn't change the fact that they wanted them. Hephaestus was named the best Blacksmith in all of West Blue. It was fortunate for them that they had decided to set up their base of operations here on the island.

But unlike other establishments that immediately surrendered to every demand that they made, Hephaestus was different. He couldn't be so easily threatened or manipulated like the others could. As far as they were concerned, he didn't have any friends or family anywhere on the island. Gaining information to use to blackmail him or anything like that was practically nonexistent. If it weren't for the fact that they needed his weapons, they probably would have killed him off a long time ago. Hopefully their confrontation with the man wouldn't come to that. That's at least what Cage was hoping for.

He wished for the meeting with the blacksmith to go down rather peacefully. He respected Hephaestus and the pride he had in his work. Whenever the organization came by to retrieve his weapons, he made sure to leave enough materials left so that the old man's business could still remain standing. But now they were in a bad situation and they needed everything they could get their hands on to make money. Right now Hephaestus was in their way of making money. If the old man refused to listen to their demands, then Cage could only plan for the worst possible outcome.

The three men eventually reached their destination and stood proudly in front of the weapon shop. The lights were off and the open sign was switched to closed. But of course they didn't care. Regardless if it was open or not, they were going to get inside and get what they wanted. Buffa suggested to simply knocking the door open while Ryker suggested that they pick the lock and sneak their way inside. Cage on the other hand decided to take a more proper approach. He walked to the front door and knocked several times. At first there was no immediate answer.

The three men stood outside in complete silence before Buffa began to lose his temper. He stepped forward and prepared to knock the door down until it eventually swung open. A furious Hephaestus stepped outside and glared at the three men.

"What the hell do you three want?" He growled through his clenched teeth.

Clearly not liking the disrespectful way that he spoke to them, Ryker placed his hand on the handle of his sword, preparing to strike him down then and there. Cage held his arm out and stopped him just in time; wanting to prevent a fight at the moment, especially at this late of night.

"Good evening, Mr. Hephaestus. I hope that we haven't shown up at a bad time." He spoke professionally.

"Well I'm clearly trying to sleep. So yeah, you've chosen one hell of a time to show up here." Hephaestus was clearly displeased with the appearance of the Nefarious Cage members.

"We're very sorry for showing up this late at night. But we were informed by some of our members that you once again refused to hand over some weapons to us." Cage mentioned with a small frown. "Now I know that you're unaware of our organization's current situation. But we need those weapons as soon as possible. If you would be so kind as to hand them over to us right now, I assure you that nothing bad will happen to you. We will also ensure that you will be compensated at a later date."

"Compensated at a later date? I don't want to hear that crap. I know that you guys have no intention of paying me back." Hephaestus presumed. "I don't know what kind of situation your organization is in, but it's none of my concern. I'm not going to hand over my weapons to penniless chumps. Now if that's all you came here for, then you can buzz off."

Confident that he had given them a stern talking to, Hephaestus grabbed the door of his shop and prepared to close it. However, Buffa stepped up and placed his hand on the door. The difference of strength between them was very clear. Evident by the fact that Hephaestus was unable to even move it closed anymore. He wasn't putting all of his strength into it, but it was certainly more than enough to have already sent the average man flying. Irritated by the interference of the large man, Hephaestus quickly looked up and glared at him. He opened his mouth in preparation to tell him off, but he was instantly sent flying back into his shop once Buffa bumped him with his large belly.

He crashed into the far wall and dropped down to the floor. Meanwhile, Cage, Buffa, and Ryker entered their way into the weapons shop. Buffa closed and locked the door behind the group, even going as far as to close the blinds. It was clear that he was enjoying the situation judging by the sinister expression on his face.

"You bastards…get out of my shop…" Hephaestus demanded despite still being on the floor. He pressed his hands against the floor and he attempted to push himself up, but he was too weakened from the previous sudden attack.

"Do you still not understand the situation that you're in old man?" Buffa stepped forward, taking a few drags of his pipe along the way. He then looked down to the blacksmith and blew the smoke right in his face before continuing. "This branch of Nefarious Cage owns this entire island. Everything that is on this island belongs to us. This weapon shop belongs to us."

"So in a way, everyone on this island is affiliated with our organization. You all work for us in exchange for our protection. So handing over your weapons is the least that you can do for us." Ryker mentioned from behind the counter. At first he was examining the weapons, listing off the ones that seemed worthy enough to take. But now he was raiding the cash register. There wasn't much money in there. But something was better than nothing. Needless to say he took it.

"And of course if you refuse to obey our demands…" Cage grabbed a broadsword from its rack and stabbed it into the ground inches away from Hephaestus' hands. "Then I'm afraid we won't be as nice as we were before. Believe me when I tell you this old man. You want us to always be nice."

"Or else you'll end up like the others that dared to oppose us…" Buffa mentioned before proceeding to blow more smoke in the blacksmith's face.

"Oh believe me…I know what happened to the others that dared to oppose you." Hephaestus kept his eyes on the sword was nearly impaled through his hand. He remembered back to five years ago when the island was rather peaceful. Since pirates rarely ever came to the island, there was no need for a marine base to be stationed her. There was a police force, but crime rate was really low. Back then, Hephaestus had a lot of friends and people that could be considered family.

But that all changed once the World Nobles came to the island. At first everything was fine since everyone bowed their heads to them as they passed through the streets and they followed their every command. What ultimately sealed the fate of the entire island was when the World Nobles proclaimed that they would allow a branch of Nefarious Cage to run the island from now on. That was the first time Hephaestus saw Cage, Buffa, and Ryker. The sinister expressions on their faces at the time gave him a sense of foreboding for the future. Over time that feeling proved to be correct.

Nefarious Cage made it their mission to terrorize and flaunt their power and authority around the island. They publicly stole things, provoked and instigated fights, and even executed people that dared to disrespect them. Their antics would even reach the ears of pirates and criminals from around the West Blue. Inciting raids and attacks around the town. Innocent people would be captured and slaughtered because of the organization. To only make matters worse, Nefarious Cage members would eventually quell the attacks and then celebrate as if they were heroes.

Eventually the townspeople could no longer stand it. Some of the townspeople took up arms and caused a rebellion. They attacked the Nefarious Cage headquarters building and attempted to overthrow them. Unfortunately, they did not get very far in the end. The members of Nefarious Cage outnumbered them and took them down with ease. The members of the rebellion were either publicly executed or sold off as slaves to the World Nobles. Some of the people involved with the rebellion were very close friends of Hephaestus.

On that very day he wept uncontrollably in his empty weapon shop. He had begged them not to oppose the organization, but of course they didn't listen to him. When he was offered to help lead the rebellion, he refused. He was far too old to even consider engaging in battle again. He didn't regret not participating in the rebellion, but he did regret not helping his friends in their desperate time of need. He didn't know what had happened to them after they were shipped off the island to the Holy Land, but he could imagine that their lives in hell would last forever. He hated Nefarious Cage.

No, he despised them and everything that they stood for. They had done nothing but cause him great pain and suffering for the past five years. And it was only going to continue unless something was done to stop them. That was the main problem. No one could stop them. No one on the island was strong enough to oppose Nefarious Cage again. Not after what had happened last time they tried.

"Then why are you being so difficult? If you know what's going to happen to you, then stop being a stubborn old fool and hand over your weapons." Buffa demanded. Although after taking a moment to think about it. He didn't know why he was even bothering to demand anything at this point in time. The group was already in the shop. The old man wouldn't be getting up any time soon so it wasn't like he would be able to stop them. At this point they could just simply take whatever they wanted and save themselves the trouble.

"We're trying to be nice, old man. You're making that very difficult for us." Cage jumped back into the conversation. "I promise you that we will pay you back. We members of Nefarious Cage always remember to pay back our debts."

"Is that right? Fine then…bring them back." Hephaestus raised his head and smirked at Cage. "Bring them all back. My friends. The townspeople that you sold off and killed all those years ago. And then leave this island for good. If you do that, then I will let you take all the weapons that you want."

Cage looked the blacksmith straight in the eyes. He could tell that the man was serious. But Cage was serious as well. He tried to play things by the book. He tried to be nice. But now, play time was over. Now he was going to get down to business. His eyes glanced down to the blacksmith's hand and he ruthlessly slammed his foot onto it. The loud crunching sound of the man's hand breaking was drowned out by his even louder wail of pain.

Buffa and Ryker smirked at the sight of this. They knew that Cage had completely run out of patience at this point. Now things were going to be done their way. While Hephaestus was clutching his hand in excruciating pain, Buffa and Ryker joined their leader in surrounding the man, looking down on him with condescending expressions.

"No more Mr. Nice guy. Let me tell you what's going to happen from now on, old man. From now on, if you ever refuse our demands for weapons, we're going to start killing off people on this island." Cage warned him. Hephaestus' eyes widened in horror after receiving the threat. "I've figured out why you've been acting so stubborn lately. You know that we won't kill you because of your superior blacksmithing skills when compared to the others on this island, hell, in all of West Blue. We're kind of dependent on your weapons at this point. You're practically our cash cow."

"But that doesn't mean that the townspeople are. We don't care for them a single bit. Who cares if a life or two get wasted?" Buffa added.

"We've been trying to threaten you to follow our rules, but of course that proved to be difficult since we can't physical harm you so much. But now…we've found a weakness of yours. You care for the people of this island." Ryker added his input as well.

"I'm curious to see how much you care for these people. Because if you don't start cooperating, heads are going to start rolling and we're going to make sure that the people of this island know that it was all…your…fault." Cage announced.

"You guys are seriously some pieces of trash…" In spite of his injury, Hephaestus struggled to his feet, glaring daggers at the three men standing before him. "You're not going to lay a hand on anymore of the townspeople? Do you know why? Because you're going to fall someday. I don't know when. But it's going to happen sooner or later."

"What makes you so certain of that statement?" Cage clenched his hands into fists, holding back his anger at the moment.

"Just look at how desperate you three are for money. You've broken into my shop, stole money from the register, broke my hand, and now you're threatening to harm the people of this island so that I will comply with your demands…" Hephaestus chuckled. "I don't know what kind of situation you three are in. But you must be severely screwed. Whatever you three have gotten yourselves into, your heads will be on the chopping block soon once the World Nobles gain word of this."

"You had best shut your mouth, old man. You're wandering into dangerous territory now." Ryker warned him.

That reaction alone was more than enough to confirm his suspicions. Nefarious Cage was in danger and they were desperate to save themselves. It honestly made him happy to see them so worried and flustered. Earlier he could hear dozens of their members roam outside around the town, frantically searching for someone or something. Whatever was going on with them at the moment was serious. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't going to make things easy for them. He wasn't going to hand over his weapons so easily. If they wanted them, then they were going to have to take them by force over his own dead body.

With his one good hand, he let out a mighty roar and throw a punch at Cage. Cage stepped to the side while holding his arm out. The man's arm phased through Hephaestus. And once completely phased through, a black restraint appeared around Hephaestus' body and tightened up. Hephaestus instantly lost his balance and collapsed onto the floor. The Nefarious Cage members burst out in laughter at the sight of the downed blacksmith. His attempts at struggling to break free from the restraint made the situation all the funnier to them.

"What the hell is this?!" Hephaestus angrily exclaimed, continuing with his futile attempts to escape.

"It's an inescapable restraint." Cage responded as he took a seat on Hephaestus' back. "I've eaten the Cage Cage Fruit. I'm a Cage man."

"Once locked in one of his iron restraints, it's impossible to escape. You made the wrong choice choosing to attack us like that." Buffa said.

"Trying to harm us is like trying to harm the World Nobles. It's unforgivable." Ryker added.

"Now you need to be punished for your actions. We would sell you off to be a slave. But no one would want to waste their money on some old man. So we'll just settle for destroying this weapon shop of yours." Cage menacingly said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raymond was taking a happy little stroll through the town. He was on his way to pay the Nefarious Cage Headquarters a little visit. He had a lot of things that he had wished to discuss with the leaders of this branch. Hopefully it would turn out to be a peaceful encounter. Perhaps they would talk for a little bit, have some tea and crumpets, and then leave on good terms. But of course that wasn't going to happen. What he truly wanted was a fight. The people involved in this organization were responsible for capturing him and selling him off to the World Nobles as a slave.

That crime could and would never be forgotten nor forgiven. The moment he set foot in that place, he planned to bring the entire building down on all of their heads. No one was going to be spared from his wrath. Not a single one of them. He didn't care if they got down on their knees and begged for mercy. They weren't going to get it from him. He eventually stopped in his tracks and looked to the large two story building in front of him. He could tell it was their headquarters judging by the symbol on the building.

"We've finally made it, Wolfey." Raymond looked to the black wolf cub in his hand. It was still struggling to get away from him. Its teeth were still plunged into his other hand. It hurt the first time, but now he was simply use to it.

The wolf looked up and saw the building up ahead. It released Raymond's hand and snarled at the sight of it. Figuring that something was up, Raymond set the cub down and watched it run to the doors of the building. It jumped up on its hind legs and it attempted to push the doors open. It was desperate to get inside. Raymond took notice of the wolf's determination and made quick work of the doors with a single kick.

The doors were kicked off their hinges and they flew out into the main hall, knocking out anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path. Everyone in the main hall stood to their feet in a state of alarm while Raymond and the cub entered their way into the building. Looking around the main hall, Raymond didn't find anyone notable. Everyone seemed too weak to give him a challenge. But he was only on the first floor, so hopefully stronger people would be on the other two floors of the building.

Since he was always a flare for the dramatics, Raymond stepped forward and spread his arms up into the air with a bright smile on his face.

"Good evening lackeys of Nefarious Cage! How are you all doing tonight?" His smile immediately dropped once a large number of guns had been trained on him.

"Who the hell are you? You have some nerve coming in here like that! I hope your pockets are deep! Because you're paying for those doors you kicked down!" A member of Nefarious Cage announced.

"Yeah, sorry about that. The issue of not having any money has been coming up plenty of times today. I'll really need to fix that." Raymond mumbled while scratching the back of his head. "So how about you guys tell me where you hide your money. It's sure to be in some kind of safe, right? Most likely on the top floor."

He looked towards the staircase and walked in that general direction, abruptly stopping in his tracks once a stray bullet struck the ground a few inches in front of him. The sight of him suddenly stopping caused the Nefarious Cage members to erupt in laughter.

"What's with this guy? Does he have some kind of death wish?"

"He must have! No one has ever been stupid enough to barge in here like that!"

"You're not going anywhere, buddy!"

"Also…" One of the members looked down to the cub that was snarling at all of them. "Isn't that the black wolf that our boss ordered us to find? Well lucky us, it seems like we've hit the jackpot boys!"

"Oh that's right, you guys are after Wolfey. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're not going to get him." Raymond told them before he lunged towards the men and struck them down with a flurry of savage kicks. This immediately incited a fight within the building. It was Nefarious Cage against Raymond and Wolfey. Or rather it was just Raymond. The moment bullets began to fire around the building, the cub immediately ran off to hide somewhere.

Raymond ran across the large main hall, evading all of the bullets that were getting shot at him. He would occasionally smirk at the sight of other people in the room getting hit by the bullets that were intended for him. Once he was on the opposite end of the hall, he realized that there was no one else near him. Everyone else was gathered up and they all had their guns trained on him. Not liking his odds, Raymond flipped over a nearby table and took cover behind it as bullets once again began to flying throughout the air.

"Okay, perhaps I didn't think this one all the way through." Raymond mused to himself, looking around for anything useful that could help him out in this situation. He was already backed into a corner and he was going to be killed if nothing was done soon.

Fortunately, lady luck was still smiling down on Raymond. Near him was a large bowl of mashed potatoes. It pained him somewhat to waste such good food. But drastic times called for drastic measures. With one good toss, the mashed potatoes landed on some of the men, forcing them to stop shooting their guns for a moment. That's all Raymond needed. The black haired man ran out from table and rushed the men. He closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds.

Since he was within such close range of them, they could no longer carelessly shoot off their guns. That is of course unless they wished to shoot down any more of their own allies. Which Raymond didn't seem to mind at all.

Once he was within the middle of the large group of men, Raymond proceeded to make quick work of them. He struck a couple of them down with swift punches and occasional elbow and knee strikes. One of the men came up from behind him and tried to take him down with a sneak attack. The man must not have known how to perform a successful sneak attack, because yelling out 'sneak attack' while charging an opponent was never a good idea. It was needless to say that Raymond quickly defeated that man as well. Immediately afterwards a couple of more men decided to lunge at him altogether, hoping that their strength in numbers would pay off for them. They were wrong.

Raymond jumped into the air and spun around rapidly while holding one of his legs out. All of the lunging men were sent flying into their comrades. Raymond landed on his feet and looked up once a large shadow began to loom over him. To his immediate surprise, a large man had jumped from the second floor and tried to crush him. He quickly jumped back and watched the man crash through the wooden floor, leaving a large hole behind. Raymond approached the hole and looked down, seeing the unconscious man lie face down on the hard concrete floor of the basement. He then took a quick glance around and realized that the others were running up the stairs to the second floor.

Clearly not planning on allowing them to escape, Raymond leaped into the air and landed on the second floor. All of the men were shocked that he could make such a jump. But nonetheless they regained their resolve and attacked. Raymond kicked a nearby table over to the approaching men and watched them going down like bowling pins. He then continued to bring on the pain. More men stepped up and tried to attack him. He weaved and bobbed out of the way of each attack, finding holes in their defenses and immediately capitalizing.

Another large man stepped forward with his axe and rushed at him. The black haired man stepped to the side and kicked the large man's exposed back. He felt no sympathy once the large man broke through the railing and fell down to the first floor. Raymond kept his attention on the remaining men still standing before him. There were at least twenty of them now. He had managed to defeat thirty of them so far.

He took a step forward and prepared to finish them off. But all of the men dropped their weapons and proceeded to beg for mercy. Since Raymond had anticipated that they would do something like this, he felt even more relieved to strike them while they were down. He was truly ruthless. They were frantically bowing their heads, continuing with their futile pleas for clemency. But of course Raymond had none to give.

If the men truly wished for forgiveness, then they should bow their heads to God and beg him instead of Raymond. The black haired fighter finished what he started and brutally beat down the remaining men, leaving them in a pile as he walked up the stairs leading to the third floor. It was there that he found the wolf cub desperately trying to get through the door at the end of the hall.

"There you are, Wolfey. You missed out on all of the fun." Raymond called out to the cub. He walked down the hallway and made quick work of the door. He kicked it down and posed dramatically as he barged into the room. "Prepare yourself you…you…what the hell is this?" He blankly stared at the woman currently chained while in a cage in the middle of the room.

The cub ran over to the cage and pressed its paws against it, barking at the person inside. Kaida leaned forward and tearfully stared at the cub. She moved closer to the cub and pressed her face against the bars.

"Oh? Is she a friend of yours, Wolfey?" Raymond walked over to the cage and removed the gag from Kaida's mouth.

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" Kaida breathed heavily, feeling more than ecstatic that she could properly breathe now.

"No problem. I'm glad to have been of some help." Raymond walked around the cage and searched around the office. "Damn it. I guess the boss isn't here."

"Boss? Wait? Are you an associate of Nefarious Cage?" Kaida glared at him. The wolf cub looked to him as well and snarled.

"Associate? No way. I just came here after kicking the ass's of about fifty of their member's downstairs." Raymond mentioned. "I was honestly hoping to find the boss up here so that I could kick his ass as well. But unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be here."

"They left quite a while ago. So you just missed them." Kaida calmed down after hearing Raymond's statement. But then she gasped in shock after realizing that he mentioned himself beating up fifty members of Nefarious Cage. That was certainly no easy feat. Not just anyone could do such a thing. "Wait a minute! You singlehandedly fought and defeated fifty members of Nefarious Cage?"

Raymond crossed his arms confidently across his chest and nodded his head. "That's right. I had a bit of a close call earlier, but I managed to come out on top in the end. It wouldn't have taken so long if Wolfey had helped."

"Wolfey?" Kaida blinked a few times before looking down to the wolf cub. "You're not referring to Ryder are you?"

"Ryder? Whose Ryder?"

"The wolf."

"The wolf? That wolf?"

"Yes, that wolf."

"This wolf right here?"

"Yes. That wolf."

"…That's a stupid name."

"How dare you!" Kaida snapped him, violently kicking the bars in front of her. "I personally gave him that name myself! It's a hell of a lot better than Wolfey!"

"How dare you!" Raymond snapped at her in response this time, violently kicking the bars to her cage this time. "Wolfey is a great name! It's a lot better than Ryder! You can't even ride him at all!"

"That's not the point!" The two continued to argue with each other over the name of the cub.

The two eventually reached a stalemate and they simply glared at each other in silence. They soon came back to reality once they remembered their current situation.

"Ah…forgive me for my rudeness. Since it appears to be your wolf, I guess Ryder will be his name." Raymond surrendered ownership of the wolf.

"Thanks I guess." Kaida rolled her eyes, not feeling that grateful since the wolf was hers from the beginning.

"My name is Raymond Everett by the way. Who are you?" Raymond asked.

"Kaida Fae." Kaida introduced herself.

"Well Kaida, care to explain what the hell happened to you?" Raymond nonchalantly leaned against the bars of the cage.

"Shouldn't it be obvious? I was captured by Nefarious Cage after I stopped them from trying to take Ryder here." Kaida looked to Ryder and smiled at the wolf cub that happily sat in front of the cage, wagging its tail.

"You were captured by those weaklings?" Raymond seemed surprised by that fact. Judging by the lengths the organization went to in order to restrain Kaida, he figured that she was rather strong. But then again, looks could be deceiving.

"No. I was captured by the boss and his top subordinates." Kaida explained. "It happened a few days ago. I came to this island and members of Nefarious Cage were bothering some blacksmith. I stepped in to help him out and then they took notice of Ryder. They tried to get me to sell him to them, but I immediately refused."

"Let me guess…a fight soon took place afterwards?"

"That's right. I easily defeated them and then went on about my day. But more and more members kept trying to defeat me and capture Ryder. Eventually the top three members confronted me."

"Top three? Sounds interesting."

"Anyway, I fought all three of them at the same time and I was defeated. But luckily Ryder managed to escape."

"If it took three of the top members to defeat you, then that must mean that they're not that strong in the first place." Raymond concluded.

"No…they're strong. All three members are really strong. Two out of the three of them have Devil Fruit abilities." Kaida explained. "Maybe if it weren't for that fact, then perhaps I would have won. Who knows."

"Do you want some payback?"

"Payback?" Kaida looked up to see Raymond's menacing grin.

"Yeah, payback. They tried to steal something that belonged to you. They even jumped you and locked you away in this cage. It's surprising that they haven't sold you off yet." Raymond said.

"They actually do plan on selling me off. A World Noble ship will be arriving here soon in a few days. They want to give me, Ryder, and weapons to the World Nobles in exchange for large sums of money." Kaida explained.

Raymond's expression grew even more sinister after hearing Nefarious Cage's plans. Lady luck still continued to smile down on him as of late. If his guess was correct, then the aforementioned World Noble ship belonged to Saint Charles Flameheart. Now that he knew what the plan was, an even more sinister and conniving plan formulated in his head. When that World Noble ship arrived in the next few days, he was going to have a huge present gift wrapped for them.

"Are…are you okay?" Kaida felt nervous being around Raymond at the moment, especially when he had such an expression on his face.

"Never been better." Raymond walked around the cage and continued to search around the room.

"What are you doing?" Kaida turned around and watched the black haired man search through the drawers of the desk.

"I'm looking for the keys to that cage. I'm getting you out of here so that you can help me take down this branch of Nefarious Cage. You have a vendetta against them don't you?" Raymond pulled open the drawer and smiled at the sight of a black key. He then returned to the cage and prepared to unlock, soon stopping short with a stern expression on his face. "Before I unlock this cage, I have to ask you. What do you plan to do after I free you?"

"I'm going to fight obviously! Those bastards tried to take Ryder and they stole my sword! I'm going to cut them to pieces!" Kaida announced. "I wouldn't go as far as to say a vendetta. But I do have a bone to pick with them."

"You do understand what will happen if you raise your hand to them, right? If the World Nobles learn that you had a hand in one of their associates being harmed, they won't hesitate to see you dead." Raymond warned her, wanting to test her resolve.

"I don't care! Those people dared to try and steal Ryder from me! I refuse to lose someone important to me ever again! That's why I'll fight and help you defeat those bastards!" Kaida clearly showed her resolve.

Liking her response, Raymond unlocked the cage and held the door open for her. Kaida stood up and walked out of the cage. Now all she needed was for the chains around her to be removed. But there wasn't a chain lock on them at all. Raymond looked to the chains and smirked, believing that he was strong enough to tear them off of her. He grabbed a hold of the chains and began to pull with all his might. The chains didn't budge. But that didn't stop him from trying. He used about anything he could in the office to break the chains. But once again it didn't work. It was only when he was reduced to using his teeth that Kaida decided to speak out.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. You can't break these chains." She said.

"I can break these chains!"

"No, you can't."

"Damn it!" Raymond ceased with his futile attempts and breathed heavily while wiping away the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. "Well, you certainly can't fight in that condition."

"Any other bright ideas?" Kaida asked.

"I know a guy that could get those chains off of you easy. All we need to do is go and pay him a visit." Raymond sounded confident with his statement. His confidence brought an uneasy smile across Kaida's face. But since she didn't even have any bright ideas in the first place, all she could do was trust Raymond to bring her to this friend of his.

"Very well then. Please lead the way." Kaida nodded her head.

Raymond, Kaida, and Ryder soon left the building. They were going to continue on down the street until Raymond rushed back inside for a moment, saying that he needed to do something. A few minutes passed and a bunch of free slaves ran outside of the building. Kaida couldn't help but smile at the sight. That certainly was going to deal a heavy blow to the branch. Her smile disappeared and she face faulted at the sight of the entire Nefarious Cage Headquarters building collapsing into a pile of rubble. Now THAT was going to deal an even heavier blow to the branch.

Raymond climbed out from the pile of rubble and smiled at Kaida. "Heh heh, wait until those bastards get a look at this. I'm sure that they'll be surprised once they see that I literally brought the house down."

"They are going to be so pissed once they see this." Kaida shook her head and laughed. Although she thought that he was going a bit overboard, she was at least happy that she wasn't in the building once it collapsed.

"Let them. This is like a declaration of war from me. Once we get you out from those chains, we're going to find the boss and kick his ass." Raymond jumped down from the pile of rubble and landed in front of Kaida with his usual confident smile. He then led her down the street where he proceeded to walk towards the weapon shop. Certainly Hephaestus had some tools that could remove the chains. But if not, then the only course of action would be to bring her to Jaw. His monstrous strength would certainly do away with those chains easily.

He didn't want to involve his First Mate in this situation since he knew that he would get scolded. So the only other person he could rely on was Hephaestus. Either way once her chains were removed, he planned to fight with her and defeat the three top members of Nefarious Cage. He wished he could see the looks on their faces once they returned to see their headquarters in complete shambles. Unfortunately for them, this was only the beginning of their suffering. With the plan he formulated not too long, the top members of Nefarious Cage were going to experience true hell soon enough. He was going to make sure of it.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it!** **Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are only three spots open for the crew! There were two earlier, but thanks to the suggestion of PokemonKing0924, a new position has been added! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	12. The Epic Confrontation!

**The Epic Confrontation!**

* * *

"What the hell happened here?!" Raymond Everett exclaimed in horror at the sight of a burning building. But it was no ordinary building. It was the weapon shop he had visited a while ago. It was Hephaestus' weapon shop. The sight of the burning weapon shop horrified him to the extent that he planned on rushing inside to save the old man. Fortunately, Hephaestus was safely placed outside of the shop. He was propped up against the wall of the building across from his.

He was badly wounded and he was still restrained. He sat there and watched in despair as his shop was burning in front of him. All of his hopes. All of his dreams. All of his hard work was burning down to ashes right in front of him and there was nothing that could have been done to stop it. After the members of Nefarious Cage had roughed him up a bit and placed him outside of the shop, they called over more members and stole every valuable item inside of it. Things then took a turn for the worst once they set the weapon shop on fire.

Now usually anyone would react and call for a firefighter to deal with the problem, but no one would come since they made a public announcement that this was a form of punishment. They were using the arson of Hephaestus' shop as a message to show everyone what happens to those that dared to defy them. Fortunately, they decided not to kill him physically. But burning down his shop would definitely kill him emotionally. No one was going to save the shop. No one could save the shop.

Raymond, Kaida Fae, and Ryder pushed through the crowd of people simply standing around and they approached Hephaestus. They crowded around him and bombarded him with a series of questions. But unfortunately, their voices never reached him. He was too far gone in his trance of depression. He only sensor factor working for him at the moment were his eyes. His eyes never left from the burning building.

Raymond continuously called out his name and shook him vigorously, but the old man refused to respond. Or rather that he couldn't respond. The black haired man looked to the onlookers and demanded for them to tell him what had happened and who was responsible for this travesty. The townspeople were reluctant at first, but they eventually gave in and informed him of everything that had transpired. Raymond felt a wave of rage course through his body. Had it not been for the interference of Kaida, he would have stormed off and finish what he started with Nefarious Cage a while ago. But he soon remembered that he made a promise with Kaida.

He was going to first free her from her restraints and then help her retrieve her stolen sword from Nefarious Cage. After those conditions were done, then he would be allowed to run wild and beat down the bastards from Nefarious Cage. At first he was going to do it just for him and the sake for his revenge. But now he had others to consider. Now that he learned that there were definitely others on this island that were suffering from this organization, he was definitely looking forward to bringing them down.

"Those bastards…they even went as far as to beat up the old man and burn down his weapon shop. They're definitely going to pay for this in blood." Raymond muttered as he stared at the burning building now. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration. He wasn't a firefighter, so there was nothing that he could do to douse the flames. And as far as he was concerned, there were no sources of water nearby. It was frustrating, but there was nothing that he could do at the moment.

"Even I'm disgusted by the actions of Nefarious Cage. Once I'm free from these cursed restraints and my sword is returned to me, I promise you that I will help you cut them down." Kaida told him.

The two of them sat down next to Hephaestus and remained there in silence for hours, watching the weapon shop burn down to the ground. Once it was all done, the two brought their attention to the old man once he had finally decided to speak.

"Are you strong?" Hephaestus muttered.

"Huh?" Raymond and Kaida leaned in closer since they had trouble hearing him the first time around.

"Are you strong?!" Hephaestus angrily exclaimed, looking at the both of them with an intense expression of despair and frustration. Tears were streaming down his face, dripping down onto the ground.

"Yeah, I'm very strong." Raymond answered confidently.

"I too am strong." Kaida answered with a nod of her head.

"You had better be. Because as of right now, I see no further reason to continue living in this screwed up." Hephaestus lowered his head and stared at the ground. "My friends are gone…my family is gone…and now my shop is gone. I have nothing else left in this godforsaken world to live for. Before I eventually die, I only wish for one thing. The destruction of Nefarious Cage."

Hearing the old man's words brought a smile to Raymond's face. He was excited to hear that Hephaestus now wished for the same thing that he did. Earlier Hephaestus warned him to never defy Nefarious Cage. But now things were different. He now wished for their utter destruction. This was what it was like to be driven to your wits end. Raymond knew all too well about that. He had been in dozens of situations like this before. Granted he was frustrated that it took the burning of the old man's weapon shop to get him over to this point, but nonetheless he was still excited.

"The destruction of Nefarious Cage? Don't you worry about that, old man." Raymond grinned from ear to ear, pointing to himself with his thumb. "The ones that will bring down Nefarious Cage are Kaida and I."

"Don't forget about Ryder." Kaida interjected, looking down to the black wolf cub that barked in response.

"Oh right, and Ryder." Raymond added. "We're going to find the ones responsible for this and have them pay you back in full for what they've done to you. I swear it to you."

"I can't believe that I'm actually putting all of my faith into you brats. Now I know I must be crazy." Hephaestus forced a chuckle. "Don't get me wrong, I've despised Nefarious Cage for years. But not once had I wished for their destruction. I simply wanted them to move and take their organization elsewhere so that I wouldn't have to deal with them. Of course I realize that's simply wishful thinking. Pushing the problem onto someone else won't do any good."

"You're right. That's why I'm going to take care of them today. Their days of running this town are over." Raymond spoke confidently.

Although Hephaestus wanted to agree with him, he found it very difficult to do so. He didn't know much about Raymond, so he wasn't aware of how powerful the black haired man claimed himself to be. But he knew of Nefarious Cage's strength. They weren't any ordinary people. They were strong. Defeating them would be difficult. And even someone did manage to defeat them, the repercussions of defeating them would be disastrous. Taking down a branch of Nefarious Cage would anger other branches of the organization and as well as the World Nobles.

Any ordinary person wouldn't dare dream of angering the World Nobles. Everyone knew what happened to those that dared to do so. Only a rare few number of people have ever succeeded with such a feat. The chances of Raymond being one of those people are very slim. But Hephaestus was willing to put all of his faith onto him. He honestly didn't care anymore at this point. As far as he was concerned, he had nothing else to live for. His family and friends were gone, his shop was gone, there was nothing else that they could take from him that would make him feel any more pain.

"We're not out of the woods yet. I'm still chained up, remember?" Kaida looked down to the chains still wrapped around her torso.

"Oh right. Old man, do you have some sort of blowtorch or something like that?" Raymond asked.

"Everything I had has been burnt down to ashes, brat. If you want a blowtorch, you'll have to visit the other blacksmiths around the town." Hephaestus informed him.

"That doesn't seem like it will be a problem. I will be right back." Raymond ran off in a random direction, hoping that he would come across a blacksmith shop sooner or later.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay, Mr. Hephaestus." Kaida looked to Hephaestus.

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you instead? I thought you'd be long gone after you were captured by Nefarious Cage earlier." Hephaestus mentioned.

"I figured that would be the case as well. But it was thanks to Raymond that I was able to escape from their clutches. Now all I need to do is break free from these chains and then retrieve my sword. After that, I can repay my debt to the both of you and help take down Nefarious Cage."

"Are you certain that the two of you will be able to defeat them on your own? You've personally witnessed the strength of the organization. Do you honestly believe that the two of you stand a chance against them all alone?"

Kaida paused for a moment. She was certainly confident enough when the matter concerned her strength. But Raymond on the other hand, she wasn't entirely sure. She knew that he took down about one hundred and fifty members of Nefarious Cage by himself. That alone was a clear testament of his strength. However, the top three members of this branch were no joke. Underestimating them would prove to be a grave mistake on their part.

She was living proof of that fact. She challenged all three of them at the same time and the end result clearly didn't work in her favor. She was beaten, captured, and locked away in a cage. It was a humiliating experience. She didn't plan on telling anyone this, but she was frightened. Being locked up in a cage while having people mock and ridicule her was humiliating beyond all belief. But she could live with that since she was planning on escaping when their guards were down. But once she learned they were planning on selling her off to the World Nobles, it was at that moment that she began to fear for her life.

She knew what the World Nobles were and the heinous crimes that they've committed over the years. The thought of becoming a slave to them was something that she refused to allow. While in captivity she would constantly strike at the bars with her feet, trying desperately to escape. Fortunately, salvation came to her in the form of Raymond and her pet wolf Ryder. She was saved by them. She was going to repay them no matter what the cost. It was the right thing to do, consequences be damned.

"Yes. I believe that Raymond and I are more than enough to defeat them." Kaida answered confidently. The determined look in her eyes brought a weary smile to the blacksmith's face.

He wanted to believe in them. He truly did. He was putting all of his faith on the two brats. It was quite the large gamble. Whether or not if they win or lose the upcoming battle, their actions would affect the World Nobles one way or the other.

Sometime had passed and Raymond eventually returned to the group with a blowtorch. It took around twenty minutes for him to free both Hephaestus and Kaida from their restraints. Once they were free, Raymond and Kaida bid farewell to the blacksmith and Ryder, who was left behind with the old man so that he wouldn't get wounded during the fight. The two of them then headed off towards the remains of the Nefarious Cage Headquarters building, ready to finish off the remnants of the branch once and for all.

* * *

"What the hell happened here?!" Johnathan Cage furiously exclaimed as he stared at the large pile of rubble that was once the headquarters of his organization. He hadn't been gone from the building for more than an hour and it was suddenly demolished. He couldn't put his finger around it. He couldn't imagine as to what kind of person on this island would dare go as far as to demolish their entire building in such a short amount of time.

Buffa and Ryker were speechless, as well as the other one hundred and fifty members of Nefarious Cage that stood behind their leader. Their eyes were wide and their jaws were dropped as far as they could go. This was a sight that they never imagined that they would see in their entire lives. Their base. Their headquarters. It was gone.

Everyone remained silent as Cage wandered ahead aimlessly. He had a blank expression on his face. The feelings of frustration and bewilderment were swelling up inside of him. It seemed that at any moment the man would explode. This was something that everyone was afraid of. Cage was often good at containing his anger, but of course he had a limit. And from the perspective of others, he was certainly about to reach it.

"Who did this?" Cage mumbled. He balled his hands into tight fists and slowly turned around to face his confused subordinates. They all exchanged quick glances with one another, trying to see if any of them knew what had happened to their headquarters. But of course no one knew the answer. This frustrated Cage even more.

There were at most two hundred members in this branch of Nefarious Cage. Two hundred people and no one managed to catch a glimpse of the person responsible for demolishing their building. This was unforgivable. He refused to allow such incompetence within his organization. He took a deep breath and then shouted on the top of his lungs.

"FIND THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT! ROUND UP THE TOWNSPEOPLE, INVESTIGATE THEM, KILL THEM EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO! JUST BRING THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Acting immediately, all the lesser members of Nefarious Cage broke off into multiple groups and scrambled away from the area. They weren't entirely sure how they would find the person responsible for destroying their headquarters, but they were going to do everything that they could. Once their leader was angry, nothing would calm him down until he got what he wanted. Whoever had destroyed their base, they were certainly going to regret it once Cage got his hands on them.

The only ones left standing in front of the pile of rubble were Cage, Buffa, and Ryker. The three men stood around in silence for a moment before Buffa decided to break the awkward silence between them. He took a long drag of his pipe and blew the smoke out of his mouth before speaking.

"Well this is problematic. We come back from stealing from the old man and burning down his shop to find that our headquarters has been destroyed."

"Thank you so much for mentioning the obvious, Buffa. Now unless you have something meaningful to say, I suggest that you keep your mouth shut." Ryker harshly spoke. Buffa glared at Ryker in response, but the black haired swordsman ignored it and continued to talk. "This is obviously some form of retaliation. It can't be a coincidence that our base was destroyed around the time we destroyed the weapon shop."

"Someone has it out for us it seems." Cage muttered while taking a seat on the pile of rubble. He brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his temples. "If I were to make a guess. It has to be that Kaida woman."

"That's impossible. She was chained and locked up in a cage before we left. She couldn't have escaped so easily." Buffa interjected as he took a step forward. "She must be buried underneath the rubble somewhere. All we need to do is look for her."

"Then get to it." Cage ordered. Buffa was taken aback by the sudden order, but he nonetheless followed them and began to search through the rubble. Meanwhile Cage and Ryker continued to discuss the matters of their current situation.

"If by some miracle that Kaida somehow managed to escape from her cage, I doubt that she could have found the means to demolish our entire base by herself. I believe that she must had some form of assistance." Ryker assumed.

"Assistance? From who exactly? No one on this island would dare try and defy us like this." Cage stated.

"What about that noble some of our subordinates mentioned earlier? Do you think he is somehow connected to all of this?"

"The noble? Oh yes, our men did mention something about a noble that had caused them some trouble earlier."

"That seems a bit too far-fetched if you ask me." Buffa cut his way back into the conversation, still continuing with his digging through the rubble. "It's rare for nobles to have any fighting experience. So I highly doubt that some noble could cause this much destruction in less than an hour."

"Oh yeah, Buffa? Then why don't you tell us who you think could have done this?" Ryker called out to him.

"Well it's no secret that our organization has many enemies. I'm think it's some group of pirates or something like that. Perhaps they're allies of all the other pirates we've taken down over the years." Buffa answered.

Cage and Ryker exchanged glances with each other and sighed heavily. There were just too many possibilities to consider. Finding a concise answer at the moment was certainly going to prove to be difficult for the group. They had too many enemies. Anyone could be the culprit behind this travesty. Things were no longer in their favor.

Their base was destroyed. They still have yet to capture the black wolf cub that the World Nobles demanded. And now possibly one of their prisoners had escaped from their clutches. Although they still had a few days left to settle the situation, Cage figured that it would be best if they dealt with it as soon as possible rather than later. It was the smart thing to do.

All three men looked ahead once they witnessed about a dozen of their men come running back towards them. The terrified expressions on their faces slightly alarmed them. They wondered what could possibly force their subordinates to make such an expression. The answer soon came to them as Raymond and Kaida slowly approached the group of fleeing men.

"Boss! Help us! They're far too strong!" Some of the subordinates collapsed in front of the three men. Their wounds weren't too severe. They were covered in scrapes and bruises. Some of them were bleeding. Cage actually felt insulted to have these men as his subordinates.

They were supposed to be members of Nefarious Cage. An infamous organization known worldwide and feared for its reputation. The mere sight of his subordinates fleeing before the enemy, especially two of them, was more than enough to cause veins of anger to protrude on his forehead. He averted his eyes from his men and he focused his attention onto Raymond and Kaida.

"Boss? Those guys are the bosses, huh?" Raymond stopped in his tracks and looked over Cage, Buffa, and Ryker. He then shrugged his shoulder and shook his head, clearly disappointed by the appearances of the three men. From what he had heard about them, he had expected them to look far more intimidating. "You three don't look all that frightening to me. The people of this island should feel insulted for even being afraid of you."

All of the lesser members of Nefarious Cage exclaimed in shock after hearing Raymond's disrespectful words towards their boss. No one had ever disrespected their bosses and lived to tell the tale. It was going to be a frightening sight. But the public execution of Raymond was sure to be a grand one.

"Who…who are you?" Cage glared at Raymond.

"Who am I? Who am I?!" Raymond stepped forward with his hand on his chest, feeling insulted that the man felt the need to ask such a ridiculous question. A confident smirk etched its way onto his face as he dramatically posed for his enemies. "I am Raymond Everett! The black haired demon of the rumble pit! The man with fists that can crush solid concrete! The great one that will bring the world down to its knees…"

Cage, Buffa, and Ryker exchanged confused glances with one another while Raymond continued to introduce himself. After a while they had lost track of what he was even talking about. Even Kaida herself was lost by the antics of the black haired man. Eventually having enough of the foolish, Cage shouted out for the man to stop, and fortunately he did.

"How rude of you! I wasn't finished with my introduction!" Raymond pouted.

"So your name is Raymond…what brings you here today?" Cage looked over to Kaida. "And how did you manage to break out of your cage?"

"I'm here to kick every single one of your pathetic asses!" Raymond proudly announced.

"I'm here to slice you all to pieces…that is until after I get my sword back of course." Kaida looked over to Ryker and glanced down to see her trusty sword kept tied against the waist of the man. "If you value your life. It would be wise of you to return what you've stolen from me."

"I don't think so little girl. I won this sword from you fair and square. The simple fact that I have it in my possession now clearly shows that you are not worthy of having this sword." Ryker taunted Kaida, placing his hand on the handle of the sword.

"We'll see about that you son of a bitch." Kaida looked down to her feet. There was a sword lying there that one of the men had dropped. She reached down and picked up the sword.

"Those two are seriously planning on fighting with the bosses." The lesser members of Nefarious Cage began to chatter among themselves.

"I remember that brat with the sword. She tried to fight all three of them at the same time and she was defeated."

"And now she's brought along some noble looking punk."

"It's their funeral."

"They don't stand a chance against Nefarious Cage!"

"Since you guys seem confident enough in the abilities of your organization. Why don't you step up and try to stop us? At least try and make this interesting." Raymond taunted the men. All of them shut their mouths really quick after that. They had personally witnessed the strength that he possessed. And they did not wish to be on the receiving end of his brutal beat downs like their other comrades.

"That arrogant attitude of yours is going to get you killed, boy! Don't underestimate members of Nefarious Cage!" Buffa stepped forward while cracking his knuckles. "You'll end up lying face down in a puddle of your own blood if you keep looking down on us!"

"I could say the same thing to you, fatty." Raymond said. Everyone in the area were now on alert now that Raymond had used one of the trigger words for Buffa. There were many things that Buffa did not enjoy being called. And fatty was definitely one of them. Buffa's face turned bright red as he made the most infuriated expression that he could. All of the lesser members of Nefarious Cage scrambled to get out of the way, knowing what was to become of the area now that Buffa was pissed beyond all belief.

"Did…did you…did you just call me, FATTY?!" Buffa lunged towards Raymond at a shocking speed. He rammed into the black haired man and sent him flying into one of the nearby buildings.

Kaida remained motionless, momentarily shocked by the unnatural speed that the large, obese man had just displayed. In their previous encounter with each other, she had never witnessed his speed. She didn't figure that he had much of it considering his size. His large size plus his unnatural speed was quite the dangerous combination. She wouldn't be surprised if Raymond was down and out after getting hit with so much force. She imagined that it was like getting hit with a cannonball.

"That serves you right you bastard! That will teach you to call me fat! I'm just big boned!" Buffa shouted in the general direction that Raymond had flown off to; believing him to be down and out for the time being. But he didn't plan to end it there. He was going to make sure that Raymond regretted the day ever showing his face in front of him. Just when he prepared to continue with his assault against him, Kaida held her arm out and blocked his path with her sword.

"You plan on getting in my way again, brat?" Buffa glanced down to Kaida, glaring furiously at her. His main focus of anger was still directed at Raymond. But he didn't mind extending it over to Kaida as well.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? I'm going to slice you to pieces!" Kaida swung her sword at the large man, believing that despite his speed, he would be unable to avoid her at such a close range. Just when her blade came close to striking down the large man, he suddenly disappeared. Her blade cut through nothing but air. She was left standing there in bewilderment. She just couldn't fathom as to how such a large man could move so quickly in such a short span of time.

Her eyes scanned around the area, trying to find any sign of the large man. She eventually found herself looking up to see Buffa coming down towards her with his fists raised above his head. Taking a large leap backwards, she managed to avoid being crushed underneath the weight of the large man. Upon landing on the ground, the pavement was destroyed and the debris shot out in every direction. Kaida raised her sword and sliced down every piece of debris that came at her.

"You just had to move didn't you?" Buffa slowly stood up straight and glared down Kaida. "Your death would have been swift you know."

"Don't kill her, Buffa! We still need to extract information from her about the whereabouts of her wolf!" Ryker called out to the man.

"Right, right. But we don't need the other one, right?" Buffa looked back to his comrades to confirm his question.

"That's right. But don't kill him off too quickly now, Buffa. I'd like to get my hands on him as well once you're done with him." Cage smirked.

"Very well. I'll be sure to be as "gentle" as possible with him." Buffa looked back over to Kaida and smirked, believing that the next few moments were going to be enjoyable for him. Kaida grimaced at the sight of his expression and she readied himself for his next attack. With another powerful leap, Buffa closed the distance between the two of them in a matter of seconds.

Fortunately, Kaida was prepared this time. She jumped out of the way at the last second, narrowly managing to avoid getting run through by the large man. She swung her sword at him and just barely missed him. Once she turned around to check on his location, Ryker took the opportunity to make his way into the battle as well. He unsheathed the stolen katana and rushed ahead at a high speed, planning on striking down the distracted girl while her back was turned to him. Kaida managed to hear his approaching footsteps ahead of time. She whipped around and blocked the incoming sneak attack with her blade. The two of them were locked in a stalemate. They both leaned forward during their power struggle, trying to gain the upper-hand on one another.

"Damn it, Ryker! Who said that you could interfere with my fight?!" Buffa angrily yelled at the man taking away one of his prey. He felt insulted that Ryker felt the need to sneak his way into the fight.

"These people have taken it upon themselves to challenge the entirety of Nefarious Cage. Seeing as I am one of the members of this organization, it only seems fair that I too participate." Ryker answered. "Besides, striking down this woman with her own sword seems far more fitting."

"Just try it you bastard! I'm going to get my sword back!" Kaida announced.

"Don't see how you're going to do that once I break you in half!" Buffa declared before he prepared for another big lunge. Kaida clicked her tongue in annoyance as she remembered back to her previous encounter with the two of them. It was déjà vu all over again. At this rate she was going to get beaten and captured by them once again.

But fortunately, salvation came to her in the shape of Raymond. The black haired man entered his way back into the battle and struck Buffa in the back of his head with a diving side kick. The large man fell flat on his face and skidded across the ground a few feet, shocking nearly everyone.

"That attack you hit me with earlier really hurt you bastard! I think some of my ribs are broken!" Raymond angrily shouted at the downed man, completely ignoring the fact that it was his fault in the first place for letting his guard down. "How did you even manage to move like that anyway with such a fat physique?"

"You…did you…did you just call me fat again?!" Buffa slammed his fists into the ground before standing to his feet, slowly turning around and glaring daggers at the man that dared to insult him again. If looks could kill, Raymond would certainly be dead at the moment.

"Why yes I did! Got a problem with that? Come and get some then! I won't be caught off guard like that again!" Raymond took his stance and prepared to engage the man in proper combat this time. "Then after I'm done kicking your ass! I'm going to kick the ass of your boss!" He pointed over to Cage.

"What arrogance! Do you really believe that I, "Boss Toad Bandit" Buffa, will allow someone as weak as you to pass through me?" Buffa stood firm in front of Raymond. "Even if by some miracle that you do get past me. You won't stand a chance against our boss, Cage."

"We'll see!" Raymond cracked his knuckles and smiled in anticipation.

"You won't even be able to hurt me! Just try it!" Buffa taunted Raymond, his body began to excrete some form of substance. Although disgusted, Raymond decided to ignore it and proceed with his attack anyway. He rushed the large man and struck him in the stomach. But his fist slipped off his body, doing little to no damage. His entire right arm was then covered in the slimy substance, disgusting him even more.

"Ew! What the hell is this stuff? Slime?" Raymond exclaimed while shaking his arm around vigorously to rid his body of the substance.

"It's mucus." Buffa proudly answered before striking Raymond across the face. Raymond sprawled across the ground and eventually came to a complete stop. He quickly rolled back up to his feet and charged the man again, attacking him with a fierce barrage of punches of occasional kicks. But because of the protective mucus coating Buffa's entire body, all of them proved to be ineffective against him as they all simply slipped off his body.

Buffa struck Raymond across the face once again, sending the young man flying back. He then stretched out his tongue and wrapped it around Raymond's waist, pulling him back towards him with a forceful tug. Raymond collided against Buffa's stomach and he was knocked back again, only to be brought back for the process to repeat itself over and over again. All of the lesser members of Nefarious Cage pointed and laughed at the sight before them, recognizing this to be a makeshift form of paddle ball. Eventually Buffa grew tired of the game and simple resorted to slamming Raymond through another building with a powerful toss.

Raymond slowly walked out of the building as if nothing had happened, shocking all the lesser members of Nefarious Cage. Buffa was known throughout the organization for his tremendous strength. So seeing someone like Raymond walk out from the building as if he wasn't even harmed surprised them. No one had ever managed to do something like that.

"So…what kind of devil fruit have you eaten?" Raymond called Buffa out, immediately recognizing him as a devil fruit user after personally witnessing all the strange events that had occurred throughout their brief confrontation.

"Since you're too stupid to figure it out! I've eaten the Toad Toad Fruit! I'm a Toad man!" Buffa proudly announced before he began to transform into his Toad Hybrid form.

"A Zoan, huh? This might be a bit difficult." Raymond clicked his tongue in annoyance, believing that fighting against Buffa was going to prove to be more trouble than it was actually worth. But no matter. It didn't matter what his abilities were. He was going to defeat him one way or another. "That explains your crazy amount of leg power. No matter though. Now that I know your abilities, I'll find some method of kicking your ass."

"There's that arrogance again. Are you having trouble remembering of what happened the last time you made an outrageous statement like that?" Buffa inquired, bringing his hand up to his head and tapped his index finger against it. "Do you want to go flying through yet again another building?"

"Go ahead and try it, Toad man! I won't feel a thing! Your attacks are just too weak!" Raymond taunted him. After that was said, Buffa kicked off the ground and lunged towards Raymond. Just when the black haired man prepared to counterattack, a shock wave traveled by and knocked the approaching Buffa back. The large man sprawled across the ground and didn't come to a stop until Cage placed his foot out and pressed it against his head.

Everyone stood in complete silence as a large shadow loomed over Raymond. He didn't even bother to turn around to face the person responsible for the attack. He didn't need to. He could already tell who it was just by looking at the shadow on the ground. His body grew tense and he began to sweat profusely. He couldn't help but jump once a large pair of webbed hands set themselves on his shoulders.

"So...Captain...care to recite to me the ground rules I laid out for you earlier?" Jaw looked down to his Captain, ignoring everyone else around him at the moment.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Today is a very special day for it is my birthday! And as a present for this amazing day, I would really enjoy some reviews! So please don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are still only three spots open for the crew! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-?**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	13. The Battle Begins! Kaida Fae Vs Ryker!

**The Battle Begins! Kaida Fae Vs. Ryker!**

* * *

Raymond Everett was in a dangerous situation. That was clear to everyone. Upon setting foot on the island, he encountered and disrespected members of the organization that ran the entire island, Nefarious Cage. Now unknown to most people, Raymond had a grudge against this organization. This organization was definitely on his shit list. Once he amassed enough strength and power, he planned to destroy this organization as well as many others that he felt needed to be destroyed. Because of this, he felt "obligated" to liberate this town from the organization's evil clutches.

No one would possibly miss them being gone in the first place. Well that probably wasn't entirely true. There was a slim chance that the World Nobles would miss them. But obviously Raymond didn't give a damn about that. His focus at the moment was the destruction of Nefarious Cage. So far he had done well with that mission. He broke into their headquarters and managed to defeat at least one hundred people before destroying the entire building. Along the way he encountered Kaida Fae and agreed to let her help him finish off the remaining stragglers.

And here they were, in the town square where all of the remaining members of Nefarious Cage resided. There were about seventy-three members still left standing. Three of them were the main bosses, Johnathan Cage, Buffa, and Ryker. The other seventy were obviously the grunts. Although he was surrounded by the organization, that wasn't the dangerous situation that he was even concerned about. What he was concerned about was the person currently standing behind him, clearly exuding a fierce aura of anger. The one standing behind him was none other than his first mate, Jaw, the Fighting Fish Fishman.

Raymond couldn't move a single inch. Or rather, he refused to move a single inch. Perhaps if he remained perfectly still his first mate wouldn't mess with him. Fishmen only reacted to moment, right? The answer was obviously no. Jaw had his hands on his Captain's shoulders and he was squeezing them, hard, as if trying to prevent the man from escaping.

No one in the vicinity dared to move while in the presence of Jaw. On this island it was rare for Fishman to appear, extremely rare. Now one was standing before them after he had struck Buffa. Whatever he was planning on doing next was impossible to predict. But it didn't stop them from having ideas, especially Raymond. He had a few dramatizations as to what was going to happen to him if he didn't choose his words wisely. He had to act fast. It was either now or never.

"J-Jaw! Thank god that you're here!" Raymond sharply turned around and glanced into the crazed eyes of his first mate. "I have a good explanation for all of this! I swear it!"

"Is that right? Then why don't you go ahead and begin with your explanation. I'll listen." Jaw leaned his head back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"R-Raymond. Is that Fishman a friend of yours?" Kaida nervously called out to the black haired man.

"Of course he is! Jaw heard that I was in trouble and he came all this way to help us out! Isn't that right?" Raymond cheerfully patted the Fishman on the shoulder, only to unfortunately receive a sharp punch to his gut immediately afterwards. He dropped down to his knees and groaned in pain.

"He doesn't appear to be a friend of yours." Kaida commented after witnessing the exchange between the two of them. She had her sword at the ready in case Jaw planned to attack her next.

"Don't worry…this is just how he is…" Raymond struggled to say in between coughs.

"I came all this way because I heard a large commotion from the docks. The people mentioned something about a building collapsing and then another one getting burned down. I wanted to ignore it at first, but then I had a feeling that you were somehow involved with both of those incidents since it was taking you so long to come back." Jaw said.

"It's true, I was involved with both of those incidents." Raymond confirmed Jaw's suspicions while returning to his feet. "But like I said, I had a good reason for what happened today. These guys here are members of Nefarious Cage. A slave trade organization."

"Is that so?" Jaw glanced over to the Nefarious Cage members. They were all clearly alarmed by his presence. But he didn't care about that. "I've heard about Nefarious Cage. I didn't think they had branches out this far."

"Well apparently they do." Raymond looked to the Nefarious Cage members as well. "They've caused nothing but trouble for the people of this island and I want to make sure that these bastards pay the price. So are you going to help us clear them out or what?"

"Fine, I'll help you take them out. But this doesn't mean that you're off the hook or anything like that." Jaw cracked his knuckles and scowled at the Nefarious Cage members, causing a majority of them to panic.

"W-What's a Fishman doing here?"

"Why is he siding with those two? Is he their friend?"

"We're done for! He's gonna eat all of us!"

"Shut up you idiots!" Cage shouted at his subordinates. The area grew silent as everyone waited for the man to speak again. "Don't lose your composure over the sudden appearance of a Fishman. The situation hasn't changed a single bit. The outcome of our victory is still upon us."

"Besides, take a closer look at that Fishman. He's wearing nothing but rags. He's obviously a slave to the black haired man over there." Ryker pointed out to everyone.

"Ah, he's right. He's nothing more than a slave."

"I can't believe we were worried for nothing."

"I feel kind of foolish now."

"That's why they're the bosses and we're the followers."

Raymond couldn't help but gag after hearing the Nefarious Cage members fawn over their bosses. He wanted to do nothing more than to cave their faces in as soon as possible.

"Are you done lying on the ground, Buffa?" Cage looked down in front of him where his comrade still remained.

Buffa had an expression of bewilderment on his face. He was gazing up at the sky, wondering how exactly the Fishman from earlier had managed to land a blow against him. His body was covered in mucus. It was impossible for any form of physical damage to harm him. Or at least that's what he believed until Jaw had arrived.

The large man returned to his feet and glared at the Fighting Fish Fishman standing quite the distance away from him. It wouldn't even take him three seconds to get over there and pummel him to the ground. It was going to happen. He was going to ensure that it happened.

"Sorry about that, Cage. I just needed a moment to completely process what had just happened a few moments ago." Buffa apologized to his superior.

"How could it take you so long to realize that you were knocked flat on your ass by the Fishman? Were you struck so hard that more of your brain cells were killed in the process?" Ryker insulted Buffa, earning a sharp glare from the large man in response. But his insults and taunting didn't end there. He continued on with his mockery. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to be the same rank as you? After seeing you get sent flying back so easily earlier, it made me look bad in front of everyone."

"Oh shut up! That damn Fishman simply caught me off guard! There's no possibly way that it will ever happen again!" Buffa exclaimed in a desperate attempt to save face after the embarrassing display.

"Are the two of you through with messing around?" Buffa and Ryker tensed up after hearing their leader's words.

Cage had grown quite irritated with them after watching their childish display in front of their subordinates and enemies. If this were any other time, he would have tolerated their antics. However, this situation was different. Their base of operations had been destroyed and their authority on this island was being undermined by three mere people. This humiliation could not stand. He would not let it stand. If his subordinates didn't quit playing around and get their heads in the game, then he would ensure that the World Nobles get their hands on them.

"A-Anyway, I'll take care of the Fishman and the black haired brat. Ryker, you take care of the girl." Buffa issued out the order before he leaped off the ground and rocketed towards Jaw at a high speed.

Raymond and Kaida jumped out of the way while Jaw stood his ground. He crossed his arms out in front of him and blocked the incoming head-butt. The Fighting Fish Fishman was knocked back a couple of feet, but nothing as far as to the extent as Raymond was when he first confronted Buffa. The Nefarious Cage grunts were shocked to see Jaw still standing despite having a large man like Buffa come colliding against him at such a high speed.

"Well now, you're a sturdy little bastard now aren't you?" Buffa couldn't help but compliment Jaw on his defenses. No one had ever managed to withstand his attack so easily. So he couldn't help but get a little excited. "I'm going to see to it that I pay you back for that sudden cheap shot earlier."

"Go ahead and try if you can. I'm not in the mood for this shit. So I'll end this quickly." Jaw told him. The two of the large, heavy hitters engaged each other in combat. While they were busy with each other, Raymond and Kaida both rushed for their respective targets.

Kaida was intercepted by Ryker. The swordsman unsheathed Kaida's katana and looked to cut her down with it. After all, a swordsman getting struck down with their own sword was one of the most shameful things that could happen to them. Thankfully, Kaida had her sword at the ready and she blocked his attack. She yelled out for Raymond to go on ahead of her while she kept Ryker at bay.

Raymond heeded her words and didn't look back. The sounds of their blades clashing together disappeared in the distance as he drew closer and closer to his target, Cage. The man remained motionless, sitting atop of the pile of rubble that was once his headquarters. Raymond at first found it odd that the man made no attempts to move from his position. But he wasn't going to complain.

He didn't care if he was going to strike a still target. He was a pirate after all. Once he was within range, he threw a swift punch aiming directly for Cage's face. However, with much ease, Cage redirected the punch away from him with his hand. He even had much leeway to activate his devil fruit abilities and place a shackle on Raymond's wrist, much to the surprise of the young man. But before he had the chance to question him about it, Cage stood up and landed a swift uppercut across Raymond's chin.

Raymond was thrown into the air for a moment before he was brought back down to the ground thanks to gravity. Cage smiled in triumph at the sight of the downed Raymond, then he returned to his seated position.

"You son of a bitch! What the hell is this thing?" Raymond shot up from the ground seconds later after being knocked down. He grimaced at the sight of the iron shackle on his wrist and he attempted to remove it. But of course it proved to be useless. He didn't have the strength to do it with his bare hands.

"It's an iron shackle." Cage nonchalantly answered with a condescending tone of voice. He watched the black haired man continue to struggle with a sadistic grin on his face. "I don't know who you are or what you're trying to prove by attacking us today. But I'm going to see to it that you suffer. Your death will not be a swift one."

"Big talk coming from someone that won't even fight me! Come down from there!" Raymond demanded.

"Fight you? Why should I waste my time fighting you? Despite everything that you've managed to accomplish today, you're still not even worthy enough for me to consider you to be an opponent."

"I see, so you're one of those guys…" Raymond stood to his feet and smirked. "So be it. If you won't come down from there, then I will make you come down!"

While Raymond and Jaw were busy with their respective opponents, the battle between Kaida and Ryker raged on. The two of them clashed blades a few time before they jumped away from each other to gain some distance.

"Do you honestly believe that you three misfits stand a chance against us? I don't know where you found those two idiots, but you're all going to regret this decision." Ryker taunted Kaida as the two of them resumed with their battle.

So far the two of them appeared to be evenly matched. No matter which one of them moved in to attack, the other would simply block or evade. It seemed like their fight would go on forever if none of them managed to gain the upper hand on one another. Kaida moved in once more, performing a series of sword swings which were all evaded by Ryker. Throughout his evasive maneuvers, he made mocking facial expressions. Although infuriated by the man's antics, Kaida remained calm and collected. She refused to allow the man to have his way for much longer.

The two of them continued to openly clash with their respective weapons. Ryker aggressively swiped at Kaida with his sword, forcing her to jump back away from him. He smirked at the sight of the retreating swordswoman and grabbed a hold of his flintlock pistol. In spite of being a swordsman, he felt no shame in using his firearm. Without any hesitation, he opened fire on Kaida. Thanks to the woman's quick reflexes, she managed to evade or cut down the incoming bullets.

The gunshots soon came to a complete stop. The gun was empty. Ryker clicked his tongue in annoyance and tossed the gun aside. Meanwhile, Kaida used that opportunity to close the distance between them. She raised her sword above her head and performed a swift downward slash.

Ryker raised up his sword in nick of time, blocking her sword strike. However, he wasn't prepared for the knee strike to his gut that followed immediately afterward. The man hunched over in pain and dropped down to his knees.

"What's wrong? I didn't even hit you that hard." Kaida taunted him. "That's nothing compared to the pain I intend to inflict on you for all that you've done so far."

"Don't you dare look down on me!" Ryker quickly returned to his feet and swung his sword at Kaida again. He cut through nothing but air as his attack was narrowly avoided. "Let's see how high and mighty you act when you've been beaten down and returned to your cage."

"I'm not going back into that cage." Kaida tightened the grip on her sword. "I will not be defeated by anyone of you again. You will not capture Ryder. And you will no longer terrorize the people of this island."

"Look at you, talking as if this fight is already yours. Have you forgotten the beating you took after challenging us before?" Ryker cruelly reminded her, holding back a taunting laugh in the process.

"I do. My mistake was challenging all three of you at the same time. But now I don't have to worry about that. I can strike you down and finally retrieve my sword."

"Go ahead and try it. I'll show you the terror of interfering with Nefarious Cage!"

With that their battle continued. With rapid speed, the two of them clash blades, swinging and parrying their foe's strikes. The one to gain the upper hand this time was Ryker. After clashing blades with Kaida once again, he swept her feet and knocked her to the ground. During her fall, he drove his fist into her face, smashing her into the pavement. While she was done, the black haired swordsman stabbed at her with his sword, looking to impale her through her stomach.

Kaida rolled out of the way at the last moment and watched the sword pierce through the pavement. She picked herself up off the ground and charged him, seizing the opportunity. She ran by and stabbed at him. Ryker leaned to the side while also removing his sword from the ground. He then landed a sharp kick to her abdomen. Kaida was thrown back and sprawled across the ground, eventually rolling back up to her feet and taking a stance just in case the man planned to go in for a follow up attack.

This proved to be the correct choice. By the time she returned to her feet, Ryker had already closed the distance between them. He attacked her with a barrage of fierce sword swings, but she was fortunately able to defend herself against them. However, she was being forced back. It even got to the point where she found herself being forced against the wall of a nearby building. Ryker moved in for the final blow against her, but she managed to maneuver out of the way just in time.

Ryker removed his sword from the wall and looked to Kaida. "You're struggling. What happened? I thought that you were going to strike me down and retrieve your sword."

"That's going to happen." Kaida assured him, not wavering in her determination to defeat the man.

"I don't see how that's going to happen. You've only been evading me all this time." He pointed out to her, rushing forward once more to continue with their fight.

Not retreating this time, Kaida rushed forward as well, clashing blades with Ryker once again. Their attacks grew more and more fierce the longer the battle dragged on. The Nefarious Cage grunts were certainly into the battle. They cheered on their superior officer and watched on in excitement. Cage on the other hand wasn't too thrilled at the sight of the battle. As the leader of this branch of Nefarious Cage, he had in himself and his subordinates. Although Ryker hadn't been defeated by Kaida, he still had yet to defeat her.

This irked him. The last time they fought against Kaida, she was defeated in a matter of minutes. Granted it was a three against one fight, but still nonetheless, it ended rather quickly. Members of Nefarious Cage were strong and unbeatable. This is what Cage believed. Anyone that was a member of this organization should never taste defeat nor be humiliated. Unfortunately, today was the day that his branch had experienced both in less than twenty four hours. More than one hundred of their members were possibly lying dead beneath the large pile of rubble that he was sitting on.

But that in itself didn't truly bother him. Finding more grunts was never an issue. But this incident was tarnishing the record of his branch. That's what was bothering him. He didn't want this fiasco to drag on any longer than it needed to. If he needed to intervene himself and end the fight, then that's what he was going to do. However, the moment he prepared to make a move, Raymond interfered. The black haired man sensed the man's intention to intervene and he decided to step in.

"Don't even think about it. Don't get in the way of Kaida's fight." Raymond ordered him while making his way up the pile of rubble once more. "You mentioned earlier that you didn't want to fight me, and yet you're going to attack Kaida while she's busy with your lackey? The disrespect is real with you."

Veins of anger protruded on Cage's face after having been intercepted by Raymond. He figured that the black haired man would get a clue and stay out of his way. But apparently things weren't going to be that easy for him.

Meanwhile, the battle between Kaida and Ryker continued on. The two swordsmen were engaged in a brief power struggle with one another before they jumped back away from each other to gain some distance again.

"I'm surprised that you even managed to last this long against me. Most of my opponents never lasted more than five minutes against me." Ryker boasted. "However, that was when I was using my sword instead of others. Should I immediately switch to my trusty cutlass, I'm certain that I'd strike you down in an instant."

"Then how about you hand over my sword and switch back to yours? We'll see which one of us is better." Kaida suggested, hoping that she could manipulate him by testing his ego.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as she planned. Ryker refused the suggestion with a shake of his head. "Now why would I want to do something like that? I want to humiliate you by cutting you down with your own sword."

"When I retrieve my sword from you. I'm going to make you regret ever stealing it from me." Kaida warned him before she kicked off the ground and lunged at the opposing swordsman. Upon entering his range, she performed a powerful downward swing.

Ryker raised his sword and blocked the attack. Luck soon appeared to be on his side once upon making contact, the blade of Kaida's sword snapped off and fell to the ground, leaving her defenseless. He took immediate action upon seeing the opportunity. With a swift swipe of his sword, he sliced the poor girl across her stomach. Fortunately, she jumped back at the last second, but the wound was still serious enough for her to lose her footing and stumble down onto the ground. She let out an agonizing scream and placed her hand over her wound. Blood seeped through the cracks of her fingers, staining her clothes and the pavement.

All of the grunts cheered at the sight of Kaida on the ground. They believed the battle to be over at this point in time. And who wouldn't? Kaida's sword was broken and she was down on the ground bleeding out. Ryker on the other hand was standing tall, laughing manically at the sight of the downed woman. He slowly approached her, dragging the blade of his sword across the pavement. The ear piercing noise of metal dragging across concrete was more than enough to warn Kaida of her impending doom.

"Kaida!" Raymond called out to her, intending to swoop on in and save her from Ryker. However, his plans were thwarted by Cage this time. The back of his head was grabbed and he was slammed face first into the pile of rubble.

"Now which one of us is being disrespectful? Turning your back on an enemy? Not a good choice." Cage talked down to Raymond before he looked over to Ryker. "Remember Ryker, don't kill her! We need her alive until she tells us the location of her wolf!"

"I haven't forgotten." Ryker nodded his head at his comrade before returning his attention to Kaida. "How does it feel? The pain I mean? Must be agonizing, huh? Don't worry, you won't die from that wound…yet." He pointed his sword at Kaida, a menacing grin etched across his face.

His killing intent was evident to everyone around the area. Thankfully, the man was resisting his urges to kill the woman for the meantime. He had a job to do and he was going to see it through to the end. However, it didn't mean that he wouldn't have some fun in the meantime.

"Tell us where your wolf is, and I'll see to it that your death is a swift one. However, should you refuse…" He raised his foot and slammed it onto Kaida's stomach. The blue haired woman's screams were music to his ears. "I'll torture you until you talk. So go ahead and make your choice."

"No matter what choice I make…I'll end up dead in the end. So instead of choosing your dumb ass choices, I'll go ahead and make my own!" Kaida raised her leg and kicked the poor, unsuspecting man straight in the groin. Ryker cringed and hunched over, only to receive a headbutt to his face, knocking him back onto the ground. Kaida returned to her feet and retrieved her sword away from the downed man while he was busy writhing in pain. She looked to the sword in her hand and smiled. "Welcome back, Requiem."

"You stupid bitch…you're going to pay for that…" Ryker strained to say. He eventually returned to his feet, glaring daggers at the woman that had dared to humiliate him in front of his subordinates. He quickly unsheathed his cutlass and let out a furious roar, charging the woman with the intent to kill. He no longer cared for his job or his mission. His anger was getting the best of him.

Cage silently cursed under his breath at the sight of Ryker losing his composure. He was aggressively swinging his sword around like a maniac. They were fast and devastating, but they were too direct and predictable. So despite Kaida being wounded, she was able to block and evade his attacks, albeit just barely. Knowing that his comrade would outright kill Kaida without hesitation at this point, Cage stepped over Raymond and prepared to intervene.

But of course Raymond wouldn't allow him to leave so easily. The black haired man reached his arm out and grabbed a hold of Cage's ankle, tripping the man immediately. Nearly everyone's attention was drawn to the loud sound of Cage tumbling down the large pile of rubble. Once the dust cloud cleared, Cage could be seen lying flat on his back, seething with rage. Meanwhile Raymond on the other hand, took his spot at the top of the large pile. He was standing proudly, his arms crossed over his chest, he admired the sight of his opponent down on his back.

"Don't turn your back on your enemy. It's not a good choice." He taunted him. "You'll end up flat on your ass if you do. Now that would be embarrassing, especially in front of all these people."

"...You're a dead man..." Cage glared daggers at Raymond.

"That guy, still doing whatever he pleases." Kaida complained after catching a glimpse of the scene from the corner of her eye. She wished she had the leeway to outright point and laugh at the fallen Cage, but her opponent wasn't giving her much space at the moment. Although she couldn't see Ryker's face due to his hair, it was obvious to tell that he had lost his composure. He was furious. His body language and sword skills were spelling it out for her.

His once calm and collected attacks were gone. Kaida couldn't even consider him a swordsman anymore at this point. He was just swinging his sword around wildly, yelling on the top of his lungs for her to die. While his swings may have been fast, they were very predictable. All of his attempts at cutting her were being blocked and or deflected, despite her being wounded. She couldn't even believe that she was once struggling to match him earlier.

But then again, she wasn't using her own sword. It may have sounded like an excuse to any other swordsmen, but a true swordsman would understand what it's like using a sword different from theirs. Everything just seemed so natural to her now that Requiem was back in her possession. She couldn't lose now. She wouldn't lose now. The man in front of her was going to be cut down just like she promised.

When Ryker went in for another ferocious slash; Kaida swiped her sword out and disarmed him. His cutlass flew out from his hand and lodged itself into the ground nearby. Now he was wide open. The time was now. Kaida showed no hesitation as she rapidly sliced Ryker's defenseless torso multiple times. All of the grunts watched on in horror as one of their bosses collapsed to the ground, bleeding heavily. His wounds were rather severe when compared to Kaida's. His life was certainly in question.

Kaida panted heavily, staring down at the bloody body of her opponent. She walked over to him and retrieved the sheath of her sword from him. With one swift motion, she sheathed Requiem, taking a deep breath afterwards. She had done it. She had completed her task in defeating one of the leading members of Nefarious Cage. Her initial plan was to take out all three of them alone, but considering the wound across her stomach, she would bleed out long before that could ever happen. She would now just have to entrust the safety of the island and Ryder, to Raymond and Jaw. She had done her part. Now it was their turn to do theirs.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are still only two spots open for the crew now! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-Taken by Paperman0**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	14. The Fishman Vs The Toad Man!

**The Fishman Vs. The Toad Man!**

* * *

"Im…Impossible! Ryker was defeated!" Those words echoed throughout the entire area for all to hear. Ryker, one of the three strongest members of Nefarious Cage, was defeated by none other than Kaida Fae. It was merely unbelievable. Anyone that heard those words would immediately dismiss it as nothing more than nonsense. But the mere sight of Kaida standing over the defeated body of Ryker cast aside all of their doubt.

There was no mistake. He was defeated. He wouldn't be getting up any time soon. That much was clear.

Everyone was either shocked or outraged at the defeat of the talented swordsman. All except for Buffa. He was the only one smiling after seeing his comrade lying there defeated in front of everyone. It was no secret to anyone that he hated Ryker. The two of them never got along.

He couldn't conceal his excitement at the mention of Ryker's defeat. Now was his time to shine. If he could defeat Jaw and Kaida, then he would be rewarded by their leader. Which meant that Ryker's time in the organization was going to be very short.

"Good…that's one annoying bastard down." Buffa mumbled, looking over his shoulder to check on the condition of Ryker.

Jaw took that action as an insult. Looking away from your opponent during battle could cost someone's life, and yet Buffa didn't seem to understand that fact. He planned to teach it to him. Taking advantage of the distracted opponent, Jaw threw a punch at the man. His fist made contact with the man's face. However, because of the man's devil fruit abilities, his fist slipped right off of him, causing no damage.

"You can't hurt me, fish." Buffa proudly proclaimed, watching the Fighting Fish Fishman clean his arm of the mucus. "You may have caught me off guard earlier. But you won't be so lucky this time."

"Hmph…what an annoying devil fruit ability you have…" Jaw commented after cleaning his arm of the mucus. "No matter. You have a weakness. I'll find it and exploit it."

"You sound confident. Not that I can blame you. You're a Fishman after all." Buffa bent his knees, building up pressure in his legs. "But you're still nothing compared to me. I'll beat you down and make you regret the day you decided to cross us."

He sprung off the ground then launched himself towards Jaw. The Fishman stood his ground and crossed his arms in front of him, blocking the incoming head-butt. He was knocked back a few yards, but there was no visible damage. No expression of pain. He slowly lowered his arms down to his sides, giving the man a side-ward glance.

"I won't be regretting anything if that's the extent of your strength." He mocked the toad man, shocking everyone that was within earshot. The Fishman immediately took notice of the unpleasant expression on Buffa's face.

"You bastard! Don't you dare mock me!" Buffa roared. It frightened the grunts of his organization, but Jaw on the other hand was unaffected. The Fishman rolled his eyes in response to the childish display of might, if he could even call it that.

"Enough with the shouting. I'm right here in front of you. If you're going to do something, then go ahead and do it. I don't want to be here all day." The Fishman took his karate stance, preparing to finish his fight against Buffa although it had only just begun.

His words and actions infuriated Buffa. All throughout his life he had been feared and respected for his strength and reputation. Of course, there had been times when he was ridiculed for his size and weight. But anyone foolish enough to have done that were all dead.

"Very well then…" Buffa lunged for Jaw again at a high speed.

This time, Jaw didn't stand his ground. In fact, he stood to the side and allowed the large toad man to fly right passed him, leaving his back wide open for an attack. Jaw showed no hesitation in exploiting their situation. He secreted droplets of water from his hands then he tossed them at the man. Buffa quickly turned around to unfortunately take the full brunt of the attack.

It was devastating. Each droplet of water that touched him felt like he had been shot with a high-powered shotgun. One second he was looking at Jaw, then the next he staring up at the sky. He was down. Flat on his back. He could hear the exclamations of shock and awe coming from the grunts.

It was humiliating for him. Ryker, one of his comrades, had been defeated moments ago. If he didn't do something soon, then he was going to end up just like him and end up besmirching the name of his organization. He refused to allow that to happen. There was too much at stake for him. He didn't care who his opponent was or what abilities they possessed. He refused to be taken down so easily.

Moments passed then Buffa found his way back onto his feet. "That hurt...that really hurt. You Fishmen really do pack a punch. Now...it's my turn..."

It happened in a blink of an eye. An unknown force had struck Jaw across the face, knocking him off balance for a moment. But that moment was all Buffa needed to launch his counterattack. He sprang towards Jaw again, ramming into the Fishman with enough force to send him flying through a series of buildings.

Cheers of awe and admiration came from the grunts of Nefarious Cage. Although one of their top members had been defeated, they scratched it down to be a fluke. They believed that there was no way all three top members of their branch would be defeated by trio of misfits. The proof was right in front of them after all. Buffa had gained the upper hand in his fight and their leader, Johnathan Cage, was busy dealing with Raymond Everett.

"How'd you like that, Fishman?! I sincerely hope that you're not done from just that! I plan to pay you back tenfold for all the humiliation you've put me through today!" Buffa haughtily announced.

Seconds later, more droplets of water that had morphed into arrows headed right for him. Thankfully, he had good reflexes despite his size. He jumped into the air at the last second, avoiding the arrows. The grunts behind him however, weren't so lucky. The arrows pierced through flesh and mortally wounded them.

"You're going to pay for hurting my subordinates like that!" Buffa yelled in the direction the arrows came from.

"Those arrows were meant for you. It's not my fault you decided to dodge them." Jaw made his way back into the fight, dusting off some of the debris from his clothes. "If you don't want your subordinates to get hurt, then all you need to do is protect them."

Buffa cracked a smile at his words. "Protect them you say? Yeah, I'll do that by killing you!"

Just like before, an unknown force struck Jaw across the face. Only this time, the unknown force continued to strike him all over his body. Jaw crossed his arms over his face to defend himself, but the mysterious force bypassed his defenses and continued with the assault.

Eventually, the mysterious force was revealed. Once Jaw caught it that is. He was disgusted to discover that the force he had trouble seeing before was none other than Buffa's tongue. He immediately released it then watched the tongue return to the owner's mouth.

It was revolting for him. All throughout his life he had been attacked by a variety of weapons. A tongue however, wasn't one of them. It was also humiliating for him to have to live down the fact that he got knocked around by the tongue in the first place.

"Finally managed to realize what was going on, huh? My devil fruit grants me more powers than just powerful leg muscles. My tongue is also a part of my arsenal." Buffa proudly proclaimed.

"That's disgusting. I'm going to make you suffer." Jaw warned him. He went on the offensive this time. He charged the large man before him then threw a punch. But it missed.

Buffa leaped over the Fishman's head, raining down a brutal barrage of tongue lashes in the process. Once back on the ground, the toad man rammed into Jaw's back once more, taking great pleasure in seeing the Fishman sprawl violently across the ground. But it didn't stop there. Jaw quickly recovered and attempted to return to his feet, only to be struck across the face with Buffa's tongue again.

"I don't see how you plan on making me suffer while you're on the ground like that. At this rate, you'll be defeated and sold off to slavery once again. Or perhaps we'll just kill you, then cook you." Buffa taunted the downed Fishman, marveling in the fact that the tide of battle had shifted in his favor.

He had heard that Fishmen were ten times stronger than humans at birth. He believed it. He had personally witnessed the strength of the Fishmen throughout his years as a bandit. However, he knew that the Fishmen race could be overpowered. He was the prime example of that fact.

"That's right…keep talking as if you've won…" Jaw grumbled, attempting to return to his feet once again. Just like before, Buffa's tongue lashed out at him. However, this time he was prepared. In that moment, the Fishman grabbed a hold of toad man's tongue.

With a mighty roar, he tugged on the tongue as hard as he could, pulling Buffa towards him. He then spun around and tossed the man over his shoulder, taking pleasure in watching the large man slam into the ground. It didn't end there however. He approached the downed man then drove his fist in his face, unleashing a brutal shock-wave that traveled throughout the man's body. A blood curdling scream came from Buffa. His body convulsed widely until the shock-wave finally stopped.

Jaw stood over Buffa, ready to strike him down again should he make any sudden movements. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for Buffa's counter attack. The large man shot out a thick substance from his mouth. The substance splattered across the unsuspecting Fishman's face, blinding him. His first instinct was to rub it off. But there was a problem with that choice.

It didn't come off.

He tried again.

It still didn't come off.

The substance on his face had quickly dried, leaving him blind.

"What the hell is this stuff?!" Jaw exclaimed as he continued with his attempts of removing the substance from his face.

"Quick drying slime." Buffa replied, sneering at the pathetic sight of the Fishman. It was humiliating that he had to resort to using such a cheap tactic to gain the upper hand, but he was running out of options. At that point, it didn't matter what he did to defeat the Fishman. A victory was a victory. "Good luck harming me without having the ability to see!"

The large man immediately took advantage of the situation. He lunged at the Fishman and rammed into him, sending Jaw flying back several yards. Jaw sprawled violently across the ground, eventually coming to a stop. However, he was thrown back once more after taking another hit from Buffa.

Fortunately, he managed to guard just in time, reducing some of the damage. He kept his guard up. His arms were crossed in front of his face. It was the only move he could make until he could remove the slime from his face.

However, his defensive stance was broken once he felt a slippery sensation coming from his leg. It was Buffa's tongue. With a forceful tug, Jaw was knocked off balance, leaving him wide open for the Toad man's next attack. Buffa let out a mighty roar before slamming the palm of his hand against Jaw's chest, sending the Fishman reeling once more.

He was blown through a nearby building. Which proceeded to collapse once he went through it. Buffa stood there proudly, listening to the loud cheers coming from his subordinates after his apparent victory over the Fishman. But he wasn't satisfied yet. He believed that Jaw's punishment was far from over.

Eventually, Jaw emerged from the pile of rubble he was buried under. The slime was still on his face. He growled in irritation at the sounds of mockery coming from the grunts of Nefarious Cage.

"Glad to see that you're still standing…for now that is. It would've been boring if you had fallen so easily. Especially after that love tap, I gave you earlier." Taunted Buffa, giving Jaw a condescending look.

"Love tap?" Jaw scoffed at his words, placing his hand on his chest. "Don't try and act tough in front of your lackey's. You put everything you had into that last attack. It just wasn't enough to even leave a bruise, let alone do any sort of real damage to me."

A vein made its way onto Buffa's forehead. "You're really beginning to piss me off, Fishman."

"You have no right to be pissed."

"Oh really? What makes you say that?"

"You've never experienced anything that I've experienced. My pain, my sorrow, my guilt, my humiliation…none of it."

"Why would I ever want to experience anything that a slave's experienced? If anything, I should be proud that I've never been through anything as horrible as you."

"That's true…be proud of that fact. However, it's because you've never experienced the things that I have that you don't have the willpower to grow."

"Grow?" Buffa furrowed his eyebrows, sizing up the Fishman before him. "I'm eight feet tall, dumb ass! If anything, I've done enough growing."

A sigh of annoyance immediately escaped from Jaw's mouth in response. "That response right there is more than enough proof that you're too immature and stupid to realize what I mean. I wasn't talking about your size. I was talking about your strength."

"What about it?"

"It's lacking. You lack control." He answered. "Sure, you possess above average strength. Any ordinary human would've lost their live after suffering from the last attack you performed. However, all you're doing is simply throwing your weight around. From what I've seen of your fighting style, there's no hint of any formal training."

"Training? Now why the hell would I need to do any of that? You just said so yourself that any ordinary human would've been killed by my last attack." Buffa pointed out.

"How ignorant...you're a lost cause." Jaw shook his head, raising his fists to continue on with the fight. "Let's end this. Come at me."

"You're seriously underestimating my power. You're dead..." Buffa lunged towards Jaw once more, ramming into the Fishman head first. The attack however, was blocked. Jaw stood his ground and properly shook off the attack before going for one of his own.

He punched the air out in front of him, manipulating the water vapors in the air to unleash a brutal shock-wave. Screams of pain could be heard seconds after the attack had been launched. But none of the screams satisfied Jaw. None of them belonged to Buffa's.

 _"Damn it. He dodged it." Jaw cursed to himself, pointlessly searching around the area for any sign of Buffa. It was impossible for him to tell where the large man could've been through sight. So, he instead decided to switch to hearing._

A whistle. There was a bit of a whistling sound coming towards him. It was Buffa, coming down from the sky to crush him. Jaw smirked then jumped back, narrowly avoiding the large man. He kept his arms out in front of him in case the man moved in for a follow up attack.

He was right to assume that there would be a follow up attack. However, the method of attack wasn't one that he had expected. Buffa's tongue lashed out and gripped onto his forearm. Buffa retracted his tongue, pulling the unsuspecting Fishman towards him.

"Go flying again!" Exclaimed Buffa, jumping up then striking Jaw with his belly. The Fishman was thrown high into the air. He was then pulled back. Only to get sent flying back int the air again.

This process continued multiple times. Onlookers laughed at the scene, comparing it to a game of paddle ball. Once Jaw was knocked into the air once again, he recovered in mind air. He decided to return the favor.

He gripped onto Buffa's tongue, then pulled with all his might. The unsuspecting man was pulled off the ground.

"Let's see how you like it!" Jaw exclaimed, driving his fist into the Toad man's face, sending him spiraling towards the ground. But he didn't end it there. He tugged on the man's tongue once more, forcing Buffa towards him again before he could hit the ground. Only to strike him again with another punch.

All laughter had died down at that point. Or at least the laughter coming from the Nefarious Cage members. Raymond on the other hand took a moment out of his fight against Cage to point at laugh at the spectacle. But it all soon came to an end. Jaw prepared for his final strike against Buffa.

He secreted water from his webbed hand, then balled his hand into a tight fist. With one, mighty blow against Buffa's stomach, he unleashed a large shock-wave through the toad man's body. The water secreted in his hand pierced through Buffa's body and even the ground down below.

A small dust cloud erupted once Buffa crashed down onto the ground. He was unconscious, as evident by the fact that he was no longer in his hybrid form. All members of Nefarious Cage were silent. Unable to make sense of anything that had happened to one of their bosses. First Ryker had fallen. And now it was Buffa. The only one that could stand up to the three-man team now was Cage.

All gazes were on him. The man stood there silently, gazing at the motionless bodies of his comrades. Before, he had all the confidence in the world that they would be able to defeat them. But that didn't turn out to be the case.

His comrades were defeated. In public. In front of their subordinates. For all to witness.

Their defeat would forever stain the reputation of their organization. An organization that he worked his entire life to join. As he continued to angrily stare at the sight of his defeated comrades, one word was repeated in his head.

Incompetent.

Ryker, Buffa, the hundreds of subordinates…all of them were incompetent. They were useless. Incapable of doing anything right without having someone around to hold their hands. As evident by the fact that all three members of Raymond's squad were still alive. Sure, they were a little roughed up, but still alive nonetheless.

"Good work kicking that guy's ass, Jaw! I would've done a lot better though!" Raymond called out to his first mate, completely ignoring Cage altogether.

"This isn't a contest." Jaw stepped over Buffa's unconscious body, proceeding to join over to his Captain after the slime across his face had finally been removed. "Two down. One to go." His sights were set on Cage. The man's body was trembling fiercely.

However, it wasn't trembling with fear. It was trembling with intense rage. It appeared that at any moment, the man would lunge out and attack them both. Jaw took precautions and prepared himself for another fight. But Raymond held his arm out to stop him.

"No. This one's mine." He demanded. "You and Kaida had your fun. Now it's my turn to play with the head honcho."

"This isn't a game. Let your guard down and it could cost you your life."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll be sure to be careful. Just make sure to take care of Kaida for me."

Jaw didn't say another word. He simply nodded his head then wandered over to Kaida, ensuring the woman was still alive before tending to her injuries.

"...Your arrogance...it's infuriating..." Cage forced a smile on his face in spite of his situation. "Well...I guess I can't really say that you don't deserve to be confident. Your subordinates managed to defeat two of my top subordinates."

"Yeah, they did." Raymond nodded his head in agreement.

"But don't let that get to your head! I won't be beaten!"

"That's yet to be seen. Didn't your subordinates sprout that same nonsense before they were beaten?"

"True…that's very true. However, the difference between those incompetent failures and me is that I'll live up to my word. When I say, 'I won't be beaten', I mean that I won't be beaten." Cage cracked his knuckles.

"Who's the arrogant one now?" Raymond smirked.

"It's still you. In all my years of serving in this organization. No one has ever gone so far to piss me off as much as you have today."

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" Raymond shrugged his shoulders. "Besides…your rage pales in comparison to mine. This organization, the one you faithfully and blindly serve, is nothing more than a stepping stone that will be used to spread my name across the world once I destroy it."

Cage was momentarily stunned. Out anything Raymond could have said; those words were the last things that he was expecting to hear. He was not ignorant to the fact people despised Nefarious Cage. That was a given. However, he was not expecting someone to come right out and proclaim that they would destroy it.

Nefarious Cage was an organization that was sponsored by the World Nobles and legalized by the World Government. Which meant that if anyone harmed the organization, then they would make them enemies of the entire world. Often enough, Cage would remind people of that fact. But he did not need to do that for Raymond.

The look in the man's eyes was more than enough to tell him that Raymond knew exactly what he was doing and what he was saying. The man did not care about the potential consequences of his actions. In fact, it appeared that he would marvel in the attention that he would gain from destroying the branch of Nefarious Cage.

Cage instinctively knew that the man before him was dangerous. Which was all the more reason for him to avenge his fallen comrades and lock Raymond up in a cage where he believed that he belonged. If he failed to beat him, not only would the branch of Nefarious Cage be destroyed, but his entire life's work would be washed down the drain. He refused to allow that to happen. He did not care what he had to do. He was going to ensure his victory for himself and the organization.

"Destroy it? Nefarious Cage? You want to destroy Nefarious Cage?" Cage ran his hand through his hair, chuckling menacingly. "I've heard many outrageous proclamations in my life. But that one takes the cake."

"I'm already three-fourths of the way there though. I've destroyed your headquarters and my comrades have defeated two of your top subordinates." Raymond listed off his accomplishments. "You're the last obstacle. Now usually I would suggest for you to surrender and save yourself some embarrassment. But I'm not going to. I refuse to show you any mercy."

"The more you speak, the more foolish you sound." Cage commented. "What do you mean you refuse to show me any mercy? That should be my line considering all you've done here."

"What I've done here pales in comparison to what I've got planned for all the other organizations in my way. Like I said, you're nothing more than a stepping stone."

"I've heard about enough of your talk. There's no point in speaking with you any further…" Cage concluded.

"My thoughts exactly. Let's quit talking and fight." Raymond took his stance.

The two men remained still for a moment, sizing each other up before their fight could continue. Both of them were strong. That was obvious enough. But one of them was clearly stronger than the other. There was only one way to prove that. Eventually, the two of them broke off into sprints, rushing towards each other with their own respective attacks.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are still only two spots open for the crew now! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-Taken by Paperman0**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	15. Raymond Everett Vs Johnathan Cage!

**Raymond Everett Vs. Johnathan Cage!**

* * *

It was the final battle. Pirate Captain Raymond Everett was going toe-to-toe against the leader of the Nefarious Cage organization in West Blue, Johnathan Cage. Earlier, two of the top three members of the organization, Ryker and Buffa had been defeated. Leaving Cage all alone to deal with Raymond and the others. Word had traveled fast about the battle.

The civilians in nearby buildings opened their windows then peered their heads outside to witness the spectacle. One of two things would happen. Either Raymond would win his battle through some sort of miracle. Or Cage would emerge victorious. Although they were leaning more towards Raymond winning the fight, reality soon kicked in for them. Raymond couldn't win the fight.

"You're a nimble one." Cage sarcastically commented after Raymond jumped away from him to avoid another attack.

"Thanks." Raymond took the comment as a compliment then smiled. It was for a moment, but he looked around and noticed the number of witnesses to his battle increased. "Sure, do have a lot of spectators now. I hope they brought enough popcorn."

"Mouthy little shit." Cage scowled fiercely at the black-haired man for not taking the fight seriously. It was already humiliating enough that two of his top subordinates had been defeated earlier, but the fact that he was being underestimated made him furious. He was the leader of Nefarious Cage in West Blue.

He demanded fear and respect from his comrades and enemies. And yet there Raymond was, standing a few feet in front of him, completely oblivious to the dangers that was soon to come. Cage had power. A lot of it. Whenever angered, he showed no qualms in flaunting his power to get whatever he wanted. He had done it a lot in life.

"Can you please refrain from cursing like that? There could be kids watching this scuffle." Raymond bluntly told him, earning exclaims of shock from the onlookers.

"The more you talk, the deeper your grave will be." Cage hunched forward, his face twitched as he tried to suppress his rage.

"Well that only sounds like more work for you. If you're planning on killing me, you shouldn't bother digging a grave. It's not like I have any family to come and visit it or whatever."

"Enough!" Cage rushed at Raymond, eventually throwing a punch once within range of him.

Raymond deflected the punch with a swift movement of his hand. He then used his free hand to land a blow against Cage's stomach, causing the man to stumble back. Cage quickly recovered then dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches.

None of them landed.

Raymond proved to be too quick and nimble for him. The black-haired man dodged and redirected each punch. Although Cage's attack never hit, the man relentlessly continued with his assault. That was until Raymond found an opening in the man's defenses. He avoided the next few punches then ducked under the last one to move in on the man's right side. It was there he landed a sidekick to the man's abdomen, knocking him to the ground. Although unsportsmanlike, Raymond followed up with a drop kick.

Cage rolled out of the way in time to watch the cracks appear in the concrete after Raymond's foot made impact. He then outstretched his leg to knock the black-haired man off balance. But Raymond's reflexes saved him from an embarrassing predicament. He placed his hand on the ground then spun around rapidly, letting his feet fly to brutally strike Cage across the face. The man would've gone flying if not for a mysterious force pulling him back. Cage forced his eyes open to see what was pulling on him.

It was Raymond's arm. Before he could retaliate, his chin meet the end of Raymond's foot, nearly knocking him unconscious. He fought against the urge to lose consciousness, but he was nonetheless rattled. He was given no time to recover from the fierce blow.

Raymond smirked then continued with his brutal barrage of kicks. All of them landed across Cage's torso.

Cage endured through the pain and growled in frustration. It was obvious to everyone that he was getting pushed back. Raymond was just too quick and his attacks were well planned and coordinated. He was a well-seasoned and experienced fighter. Attacking recklessly would do him no good.

"Damn it…you sure can pack one hell of a kick…" Cage dropped down to one knee, coughing up a small amount of blood on the ground.

"You're not done already are you? I thought you'd be stronger than this." Raymond voiced his complaints. Although he had plans to defeat Nefarious Cage and all its members on the island. He hadn't expected it to be so easy. He had fought against Cage for quite some time and he had yet to receive any noticeable damage.

"Believe me, I'm strong." Cage returned to his feet, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'll show you my strength now. Don't come to regret this later."

Raymond scoffed at the man's words then charged in, performing a spinning back kick once within range. Cage stood his ground and crossed his arms out in front of him. The moment Raymond's foot collided against his forearms, he swung them outward, sending his opponent stumbling back. He then rushed in then landed a blow against his torso.

The ends of his lips curved upward as he stared at Raymond's face to witness the pained expression that would soon spread across it. However, that expression never came. Despite having been punched in the stomach, Raymond's face was blank.

No indication of pain.

A surge of anger coursed through his body at that moment. He activated his devil fruit abilities then shot a black bar from the palm of his hand, sending Raymond flying back into a building. Cheers of excitement erupted from the Nefarious Cage grunts. They believed that the tides of battle had finally turned in their favor.

Raymond eventually stepped out from the hole in the building. "What the hell was that? I know you ate a devil fruit and all, but that was just weird!"

"I ate the Cage Cage Fruit." Cage responded while spreading his arms out. Black bars soon shoot out from the palm of his hands. "I can subdue my opponents inside of cages or with restraints. But you, I'm just going to beat you down first with these bars instead." He twirled the bars in his hands with a sinister expression.

"It's all over for that punk now. Cage is going in with his true fighting style. Once he gets like that, no one can beat him." Words of confidence came from the Nefarious Cage grunts.

"Go ahead and try it." Raymond raised his arm, gesturing for Cage to continue with the fight. While irritated by the man's cockiness, Cage remained calm and collected. He knew that getting angry would only lead him to defeat. He kept his composure and charged Raymond with his bars at the ready.

The first one on the offensive was Cage. He swung his bars horizontally, aiming for Raymond's side. But the black-haired man jumped to avoid the attack, only to counterattack with a barrage of kicks. Cage kept on his toes and blocked every kick with the bars, showing enough efficiency with his weapons of choice.

The moment gravity took its course and forced Raymond back onto the ground, Cage moved in. He forced him back with constant swings of his bars. Raymond evaded and often redirected the bars with his hands. After evading another attack, he swept his leg out, aiming for Cage's legs.

Cage jumped out of the way before tossing both of his bars at the man. Although Raymond evaded them, his attention was off his opponent long enough for the man to land a sneak attack across his face with another bar he conjured from the palm of his hand. Raymond was knocked to the ground, leaving him open for another attack.

Cage jumped up then prepared to impale Raymond through the stomach with the bar. Fortunately, Raymond rolled backward at the last moment. The moment he regained his posture, the palm of Cage's hand was already in his face.

"Black Bar!" Cage shouted, launching another black bar from his hand that struck Raymond right on the forehead. The brunt of the attack knocked him backwards, sending him sprawling violently across the ground. He eventually came to a complete, remaining motionless for a moment. "Is that it? It's amazing how fast your arrogance goes out the window when you're getting knocked around."

Raymond quickly returned to his feet, dusting off his clothes as if nothing happened. Blood trickled down from his forehead, reaching all the way to his chin before dripping onto the ground. "What's going on?" He mumbled.

"Hey! Are you paying attention?" Cage angrily called out to him, rushing towards the man with another bar in his hand. Raymond took his stance then readied himself.

The moment Cage went in for a swing, he dodged. Another swing followed up afterwards. He dodged again. Before Cage could perform another swing, Raymond stepped forward, setting his hand against his opponent's wrist to prevent him from building up any momentum for his next attack. Cage tried to gain some distance, but Raymond stayed on him. He slammed his leg onto Cage's foot to keep him in place for a barrage of punches. It was only until he landed the last blow that he allowed the man the freedom to collapse to the ground.

"Get up. Your beating isn't over yet." Raymond spoke sternly, his playful attitude had long disappeared.

"Stop looking down on me!" Cage shot out another black bar from his hand. Raymond tilted his head to the side to avoid getting struck. He then stepped forward then kicked the downed man across the face, showing no mercy.

"I am Johnathan Cage! Leader of the Nefarious Cage West Blue Branch! I won't be defeated by some punk!" He returned to his feet and glared at Raymond.

"I'm not just some punk! I'm Raymond Everett! Remember that name after I condemn you and your entire organization to hell!" Raymond announced for all to hear.

"You mentioned earlier that you wished to destroy Nefarious Cage. Why is that? Do you have a grudge against us?"

"Believe me…I've been looking to hunt down and destroy your organization for some time now. Yes, I've got a bit of a grudge against it. So, I would like nothing more than to see your entire organization burnt down to the ground."

"Do you even understand the consequences of saying those words to me? My organization is supported by the World Nobles, thus, the World Government and the Marines. It's a legitimate business."

"I don't care. I'll destroy it. Same with the World Nobles, World Government, and the Marines. They're all gonna be destroyed."

"…You're insane." Cage placed his hand over his face, trying to process all the information. It was all so much to take in. "I'm going to take pleasure in taking you down. Certainly, my mistakes will be forgiven once I turn you in to the World Nobles."

"Go ahead and try it. You're not going to win." Raymond told him.

"We'll see about that. I'm through playing around with you." Cage smirked before he extended his arm out. Raymond knew what to expect and prepared himself. "Black Bar!" Just as predicted, a long, black bar shot out from Cage's hand.

Raymond stepped to the side and easily evaded the attack. Believing that his opponent was defenseless, he rushed in. However, he figured something was up the moment a smirk appeared across the man's face.

"Bend!" He shouted. Seconds later, the black bar began to bend, slowly making its way around Raymond's body.

"The hell?!" Raymond jumped out of the way just in time before the black bar could subdue him.

"It's not over yet!" Cage warned him, manipulating the bar to continue chasing after Raymond as if it grew a mind of its own. It came towards him at a high speed. His reflexes saved him from the first bar. But the others were a different story. Multiple bars sprouted from the original one, smacking into him from multiple directions.

Raymond was smacked down to the ground. But he recovered quickly. Cage expected that. The man was already on Raymond the moment he stood to his feet.

"Black Lock!" He performed a sweep kick at Raymond's feet, only instead of knocking him over, he set iron shackles on the unsuspecting man.

"What the?! You've gotta be kidding me!" Raymond angrily exclaimed after looking down to his feet. They were shackled close together. Giving him little room to even move around properly. Next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground after getting smacked across the face with another iron bar. The damage was shrugged off. Raymond kept his focus on the shackles on his feet. He attempted to remove them, but to no avail.

"It's useless. Those won't come off." Cage told him, raising his foot up to hover over a downed Raymond. Iron bars protruded from the soles of his shoes, shocking Raymond. "Black Stomp!" He shouted before slamming his foot down. Raymond rolled out of the way at the last second, narrowly avoiding getting crushed.

It didn't end there. Cage relentlessly chased after the rolling Raymond, laughing manically as he continued to try and crush him beneath his feet. The tide of the battle had drastically changed. With the iron shackles placed across Raymond's feet, his mobility had been drastically limited. If nothing had been done soon, then Cage would emerge victorious.

"How much farther do you think you're going to be able to roll around like that?" Cage taunted Raymond.

"As long as I have to! I'm not gonna get crushed damn it!" Raymond responded, trying to come up with a plan to free his feet.

"Enough of this game! Black Bird Cage!" Cage slammed the palm of his hands on the ground. Immediately, black bars erupted from the ground, forming an "area" in the town square. The bars reached high into the air then connected at the top, forming a bird cage which entrapped only two people. Cage and Raymond. "Now there's nowhere for you to go!"

"Man...you still had shit like this under your sleeve? You must be pretty desperate to win this." Raymond commented.

"Believe me, I am. You've caused so much trouble that only by capturing you alive will I be able to save my ass." Cage stated. "This is the end of the line for you. Black Glove!" Thin bars shaped themselves around Cage's fists, forming into make-shift gloves. He then banged his fists together. The loud noise of iron colliding against iron brought a smile to his face.

"Hold on a second! At least let me…" Raymond was given no time to collect himself. Cage rushed him and then threw several punches aimed at him. Although his feet were shackled, his arms weren't. It was difficult. But he managed to redirect all punches away from him. Once an opening presented itself, he smashed his fist into Cage's stomach and watched the man stagger backwards.

While the man was away for a moment, he tried to remove the shackles from his feet once again. But nothing worked. He growled in frustration then looked up to see Cage's fist heading towards him again. He moved out of the way and watched the fist collide into the bars.

Instinctively, he went in for a kick to retaliate. That ultimately resulted in him tripping and falling to the ground in front of Cage. The brown haired-man stared at the downed man before him, enjoying every second of the fight. He sneered at him before planting a kick across his face. Raymond flew back and collided against the bars. He grabbed onto and used them as a means of support. He then jumped up to kick Cage. It was blocked.

He was then savagely struck multiple times by Cage's fists before he was tossed to the other side of the cage.

"Damn this is annoying! I can't fight properly like this!" Raymond complained after struggling to his feet again.

"Of course, you can't." Cage agreed with the statement. "You're too quick on your feet. Now that they're shackled, my chances of victory have increased. You're done for."

"We'll see about that you son of a bitch." Raymond raised his fists, ready to continue with on with the fight.

With that gesture alone, Cage moved in. He threw in some punches; Raymond responded in kind. The two of them traded blows, going back and forth. Neither of them showed any signs of backing down. That was until Cage exploited Raymond's handicap. He swept his leg out to knock Raymond over, quickly following up with a side kick, knocking the black-haired man over to the bars again.

Raymond regained his composure and leaned against the bars, waiting for Cage to make his next move. That time came quickly. Cage charged him again with his fists at the ready. All punches thrown by the man were evaded or redirected. Raymond then elbowed Cage in the face.

While Cage turned his back to recover; Raymond jumped up and grabbed a hold of the bars. He then wrapped the chains of the iron shackles around Cage's neck, strangling the man with a sinister expression.

"One thing you'll learn about me is that I'm a pretty resourceful bastard when I need to be!" He taunted Cage while tightening his hold around his neck. "You have two options here! You can release me from these shackles or you can get strangled to death! Either way, you're going to lose regardless of the choice you make!"

No matter how hard he tried to speak, only ragged gasps escaped from his mouth. His eyes bulged and his face turned blue. His vision began to blur and it became harder to breathe. It was unfortunate, but he had no other choice but to remove the shackles from around Raymond's feet to free himself.

Once freed, he dropped down to his knees with one hand around his neck, going into a coughing fit. Meanwhile, Raymond stood behind him, examining his feet to make sure that the shackles were completely gone.

They were.

He could move his feet around as freely as he pleased; which brought a huge smile to his face. He never liked to be restricted by anyone or anything.

"Thank you so much for setting me free! Now the fight can continue without a hitch!"

"Bastard! Black Lock!" Cage spun around and swept his leg out again, attempting to subdue Raymond once more. His foot hit nothing for the black-haired man jumped into the air at the last second. He then responded with a quick kick aimed at him, which he rolled out of the way then held his arms out. "Black Bars!" Bars launched out from the palm of his hands.

Raymond knocked the bars out of the way and then moved in to attack. He was relentless with his strikes. He kept attacking with punches, kicks, elbows, and knee strikes. All of them landed and dealt heavy damage. The end was near, everyone could feel it. The fight was coming to an end.

Cage raised his leg and performed a kick, launching more black bars from his foot. Raymond stepped to the side then kicked Cage's back leg, watching with glee as the man buckled down to one knee. Seeking to end the fight, he spun around rapidly in that one spot, building up a lot of momentum for his final strike. Cage's eyes widened at the sight. Every instinct in his body warned him about the danger that was soon to come.

He couldn't run away. His leg had been injured by Raymond's last kick. Since he was unable to defend himself, he decided to go on the offensive. He outstretched his hand and then fired another black bar. But that proved to be useless.

Raymond spun out of the way of the bar and then let his foot fly out to deliver a devastating blow against Cage's chest. In that instant, Cage flew across to the other side of the cage. He collided against the bars and dented them before falling to the ground unconscious. The cage around the area then immediately disappeared, freeing Raymond.

No one uttered a single word after the cage had disappeared. Everyone needed time to process the turn of events. The cage was gone. Cage was down. And Raymond was the last one standing. It was clear to everyone that Nefarious Cage had been defeated.

Raymond glanced around and took notice of all the stunned expressions across the faces of the Nefarious Cage grunts. He couldn't help but rub his victory into their faces. He wandered over to Cage's unconscious body then placed his foot atop of the man's head, striking a pose of victory.

"Attention all losers of Nefarious Cage! As you can all clearly see, my friends and I have defeated your bosses!" He proclaimed. "Now I'm sure that all of you are scared about what's going to happen to you all, but rest assured that I don't have an interest in any of you! Should you choose to leave this island today, I won't pursue you! However, should you all choose to stay here and suffer the same fate as your superiors then..."

He trailed off on purpose, letting the Nefarious Cage grunts to let their imaginations run wild. Shrieks of terror came from every last one of them before they turned tail and ran off from the area, screaming their heads off and apologizing. Soon enough, the only people left in the town square were Raymond, Jaw, Kaida, and the other three defeated Nefarious Cage members.

"That was fast." Raymond chuckled as he turned to check on his comrades. Jaw and Kaida were leaned up against a nearby building, tending to their wounds. "Hey, you guys okay over there? Still alive and kicking?"

"Somewhat..." Kaida weakly responded, keeping her hands on the wound across her stomach. "I can't believe that we did it. We actually defeated Nefarious Cage."

"It's not like they were that strong in the first place." said Jaw, shrugging his shoulders as if the fights were nothing. "So, what do you plan on doing with them now? Kill them?"

"That option crossed my mind. But no, I've got something even worse in mind." Raymond gathered up the unconscious bodies of the defeated Nefarious Cage members. He piled them on top of each other and laughed as sinister plots raced through his mind. He sought out to destroy Nefarious Cage. He was going to make sure that it happened one way or another.

"Well whatever you're going to do, make it fast. We've got visitors." Jaw acknowledged the presence of the civilians that began to crowd around the town square.

"Oh really?" Raymond turned around then smiled at the sight of the approaching people. "It must be our adoring fans looking to congratulate us for saving their island."

His assumption and expectations were shattered after a glass bottle had been thrown at him. The happy faces and cheers he had expected to receive after defeating Nefarious Cage were instead faces of anger and contempt. The cheers were roars of hatred and disdain. Eventually, Raymond and his comrades were surrounded by the angry mob.

"Adoring fans huh?" Jaw looked to Raymond.

"Angry mob is more like it. They're just missing the torches and pitchforks." added Kaida.

"This is...unexpected..." Raymond scratched the back of his head while trying to drown out the noise of the angry mob.

"You people! What the hell have you all done?" An elderly man in a suit stepped forward. He appeared to be the mayor of the town.

"Isn't it obvious?" Raymond spread his arms out, indicating to all the damage left behind from the three previous fights. "We kinda just finished saving this entire island from Nefarious Cage."

"Saved us? If anything, you've guaranteed our destruction!"

"What?"

"Do you know nothing, boy?! Those people you and your friends defeated are members of Nefarious Cage! It's an organization supported by the World Nobles!"

"Yeah, we know about that. That's why I destroyed their headquarters and incited the fight."

"Is there no limit to your recklessness?! Do you understand that your actions will have dire consequences? Especially for this island?"

A groan of frustration came from Raymond as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Man, you're really being a dick to us right now, old man. We put in a lot of time and energy to save your island and this is how you repay us?"

"None of us wanted you to do this! We don't even know who you are!" The mayor yelled at him. "You three have doomed us! The World Nobles will be here in a few days! They'll have us all killed once they learn about what happened here!"

"Oh, is that all you're worried about? No need to worry. I've got a plan for that." Raymond dismissed their concerns with a few waves of his hand. "First off, I need some sea-stone shackles or chains if anyone has any."

"Sea-stone shackles?"

"What do you need those for?!"

"What are you planning?!"

"Hurry up and leave this island you troublemakers!"

More shouts of disdain came from the civilians. It eventually became too much for Raymond. He balled his hands into fists, then with a mighty shout, he silenced all of them.

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BASTARDS!"

"Geez..." Jaw scratched the back of his head.

"Don't misunderstand this situation! Yes, you're all in danger of losing your lives because of our actions! To be honest, I don't really care! I did this for my own personal reasons of vengeance! Your lives are of little meaning to me!" Raymond stated, looking around to gauge the reactions of the civilians. Some of them expressed anger while others expressed their sadness. "However, I'm not so cruel as to cause all this trouble without some kind of plan! I'm seeking to put that plan into motion! But I need all of you to shut the hell up and let me work! Your lives are on the line at the moment!"

"Wait, you actually had a plan?" Jaw looked to his Captain.

"Shut up..." Raymond lightly elbowed the Fishman in the stomach. "Now then, I'm gonna need someone to bring me some sea-stone shackles! Unless you want these guys to get up again!"

The civilians exchanged worried glances, unsure of if they should risk their lives to help people that potentially doomed them in the first place. It was not until the arrival of one man that they changed their minds. The man was Hephaestus. The elderly man made his way through the crowd then stood in front of Raymond.

"Still alive and kicking I see." He smiled at him.

"Yeah. I told you that I was strong." Raymond returned the smile.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Jaw looked over to Kaida for an answer.

"A friend of ours." She responded.

"You know you're going to get in a lot of trouble for pulling this stunt. The World Nobles won't be so forgiving." Hephaestus warned Raymond.

But the black-haired man wasn't fazed. In fact, he dismissed the warning with a scoff. "It's fine, it's fine. Let those bastards get angry. It's about time someone stuck it to them anyway."

"Heh, you little shit..." Hephaestus slowly turned around then glared at the civilians. "What the hell are you people still doing just standing around?! Didn't he order you to bring him some sea-stone shackles? Hurry up and bring them here!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Hephaestus? Why are you siding with these people?" asked the Mayor. "Do you have any idea the consequences we will face if we associate ourselves with them?"

"Could it be any worse as to what could've happened years later down the line? Tonight, my shop was robbed and burned down by Nefarious Cage. Why? Because I refused to let them have their way with this island anymore." Hephaestus spoke out. "For years, these men have paraded around the island, throwing their weight around and flaunting their seemingly untouchable power and influence. We were forced to suffer in silence as these men did as they pleased. But now today, that all ends. Our suffering is all over, because of these brave people."

"Have you gone senile in your old age? How is our suffering over? The World Nobles will be furious once they learn of what happened here!"

"Not to mention the other branches of Nefarious Cage around the world! They won't stand by and let this happen!"

"Our suffering is over? More like it's only just begun thanks to those people!"

"Get the hell off our island!"

"I've got half a mind to knock out every last one of them." Raymond muttered, having grown irritated by the constant shouts from the civilians.

"You and me both." Jaw added.

"That won't help the situation." Kaida stated.

"I don't see any other way of shutting them up." sighed Raymond, taking a step forward to proceed with his plan. However, he came to an immediate stop after feeling a throbbing pain in his head. Eventually, the pain coursed through his entire body. He succumbed to the pain and then collapsed in front of everyone, losing consciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of this chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are still only two spots open for the crew now! Come and get them while you still can! :D Also I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! XD**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Taken by PirateDragons121**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-Taken by Paperman0**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	16. Shifting The Blame As Well As The Tides!

**Shifting The Blame As Well As The Tides!**

* * *

"Damn, my head is killing me." Raymond groaned in pain as he opened his eyes to find himself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Instead of trying to sit up and try to find out where he was, he decided to rack his brain around what happened for him to end up in his condition. He remembered back to his fight against the Nefarious Cage members. He, Jaw, and Kaida managed to defeat all three top members of the West Blue branch.

Afterwards, the civilians surrounded and chastised them for their actions. The last thing he could remember was his intent to knock them all out before he was rendered unconscious himself. He mentally slapped himself for his inability to go through with his threat. Should he encounter the ungrateful citizens again, he would see to it that he kept his word.

He was brought back to reality once the door to his room opened. Three people entered the room. It was Jaw, Kaida, and Hephaestus. He smiled brightly at the sight of the three before he sat up to properly greet them.

"Hey there guys."

"Glad to see that you're finally awake." The first one to speak in the group was Kaida Fae.

"Finally? How long have I been out?"

"About a day and a half. Close to two." Jaw answered.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Hephaestus nodded his head. "You should be thankful that I managed to get you a room in this hospital. The others were seriously against treating you and your friends after everything you've done."

"Oh, you mean like liberate them from the slave traders?" Raymond crossed his arms and scowled. "Had I known those assholes were going to treat us like that, I wouldn't have bothered doing anything."

"Try not to be too upset. You should try seeing things from their point of view." Kaida suggested. "We're complete strangers to these people. We came to their island and ruined their way of life without properly thinking about the consequences."

"Ruined their way of life?" Jaw looked to Kaida with a scowl. "I'm sure before the arrival of Nefarious Cage, this island rarely had any problems. These people are better off with them gone."

"That's just what you believe. You don't know that for certain." Kaida looked to the Fighting Fishman with a scowl as well. "Yes, we defeated Nefarious Cage and saved the people from them. But what about the World Nobles? Once they find out what happened here, I have no doubt they'll take their frustration out on the island and its people."

"Then we'll just have to ensure that doesn't happen." Raymond got out of the bed with devious smile. It sent chills down the spines of the spectators. "I thought of a cool idea we could use that will direct the World Noble's attention onto us."

"Somehow I don't like the sound of that." Jaw voiced his displeasure.

"Don't be such a pessimist. I've thoroughly thought this plan through in a dream while I was unconscious," Raymond sheepishly announced to everyone. None of the others found his announcement as amusing as he did. "And in the end of it; everything worked out for everyone."

"You do know the difference between dreams and reality, right?" Kaida showed great hesitance in asking her question.

"Of course, I do. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Now, I need you to take me to the prisoners."

"What do you plan on doing with them?" asked Jaw, suspiciously eyeing his Captain.

"You'll see…" Raymond happily responded, glancing over to his first mate with a devious smile afterwards.

"Hmph…follow me." Jaw turned his back to the group then led them towards the prisoners. Along the way, the group received sharp glares and dangerous threats from the civilians.

Raymond wanted to retaliate against them; but he restrained himself. He understood that he was the object of their fury, but from his point of view, he had done them a great service. Because of him, a branch of Nefarious Cage had been taken down. None of them would no longer have to live in fear of that group. It was true that the defeat of Nefarious Cage would anger the World Nobles and other organizations, but he was prepared for that. He had a plan.

Eventually, Jaw led the group to their destination. It was the town square. It was there that Raymond came across one of the most beautiful sights in the world. All top three members of Nefarious Cage were tied up together in sea-stone chains. They yelled and demanded for the large crowd of people around them to release them of their restraints.

The area grew silence once the group made their way through the crowd, eventually standing before the defeated slave traders.

"Hey there. Nice to see you guys again so soon." Raymond tried to start things off as nicely as he could. However, the slave traders weren't so kind in return.

"Piece of shit!" All three of them shouted in unison.

"Well that's just rude." Raymond shrugged off their hateful words.

"Get us out of this chains! You don't know who you're messing with!" Ryker proclaimed.

"Nefarious Cage. A slave trading organization legalized and sponsored by the World Nobles. That about cover it?" Jaw asked.

"If you understand that much, then you must understand what will happen once word gets out about this," Buffa was the one to speak up next. "They won't be too happy to hear about one of their branches getting destroyed."

"You're right about that. They won't be happy. Too bad for them, pissing them off sounds like fun to me." Raymond unbuttoned his shirt then revealed his back to everyone. Exasperated gasps came from everyone besides Jaw and Hephaestus.

"T-That's the mark of the World Nobles!" A disgruntled civilian started.

"The hoof of the soaring dragon!"

"It's on his back!"

"It's been crossed out!"

"He's a slave of the World Nobles?!"

"We're in deep shit now! If it's revealed that we helped an escaped slave…"

"Shut up already," Raymond shouted at the civilians before looking back over to the slave traders. "One hell of a surprise, huh? I used to belong to them not too long ago."

"Me too." Jaw showed his slave tattoo as well.

"You two were slaves?" Kaida switched glances between Raymond and Jaw.

"Beaten…we were beaten…by former slaves…" Johnathan Cage lowered his head and mumbled to himself. "Don't screw around with me!"

"I'm not screwing around. In case you haven't figured it out, this is a very serious situation," Raymond's cheerful tone of voice disappeared. "Like you mentioned earlier, the World Nobles are going to be pissed once word gets out about this. There's no telling what they'll do."

"Since you understand the graveness of the situation, you should let us free." Buffa suggested.

Raymond looked to the large man then said, "Let's put a pin in that. Before we get to that, let's try and salvage this situation."

"Salvage?! How do you think you can salvage this situation?" Ryker yelled.

"You destroyed our base of operation! And now you have us chained up like this!" Buffa added.

"You should be beneath us!" Cage finished.

However, their words fell on deaf ears. Raymond showed no immediate reactions to them. "Anyway, the World Nobles are going to be pissed. Now, the question remains as to who will be punished for all this."

"Obviously, you!" All three men responded immediately.

"A fine answer. It's true that they will try and punish me. However, I won't make it that easy for them. By the end of today, we'll be long gone. You guys on the other hand…" He purposely paused for dramatic effect.

"What…what are you getting at?" Cage struggled to say. He knew deep down what Raymond meant. But he didn't want to hear it.

The black-haired man brought his index finger to his head then mockingly tapped it as he said, "Think about it. You guys were granted permission from the World Nobles to set up shop here. They must've had a lot of faith in you," He put his shirt back on then continued, "But now, your base has been destroyed. You all have been defeated. You're all washed up."

"We're not washed up!" Ryker retorted while struggling to break free from his restraints, despite how futile it was. He soon stopped with his unnecessary movements once Kaida held her sword close to his neck.

"Yes, you are." She assured him.

"Anyway, by the time we leave, you three will be the only ones that must answer to the World Nobles. You'll be punished for your inability to stop and capture a bunch of escaped slaves." Raymond informed them.

All three men hung their heads, knowing that there was nothing that they could refute that would save them. But nonetheless, they continued to hold on to some hope.

"They'll forgive us. We'll tell them everything that happened here. You won't get away with this." Cage angrily declared to the group.

"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll cross that bridge once we get there," Raymond brought his face in close to Cage's. "Let me tell you this…your lives as free men are finished. You will soon all belong to the World Nobles. The hoof of the soaring dragon will be branded onto you, marking you as someone that is less than a human. You will be worked to the bone until they no longer see you to be of any use. You will finally experience the tragedy and torture that your victims faced because of your actions."

During the duration of Raymond's speech, everyone took immediate notice of the men's expressions darkening. It was something that never crossed their minds. Becoming slave. They were usually the ones that forced others into slavery. So, it only made sense for them to never consider it themselves. In all their years of slave trading, they had witnessed the horror of the World Nobles. They knew exactly what to expect should they become slaves.

"You bastard…you'd actually do this to us?" Cage struggled to look the black-haired man in the face. No, it wasn't a man. But a demon. A demon taking the form of a human being. It was at that moment he understood how all his victims felt. That foreboding sense of dread and helplessness.

"You did this to yourselves. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," Raymond replied with his usual cheerful tone of voice. Although it sounded happy, the context of his words was that of pure malice. He didn't care for the men before him. They were nothing more than stepping stones used to further his goals of revenge. Even as their wills were being shattered, he showed no mercy towards them. "Remember now, my name is Raymond Everett Be sure to curse my name in the afterlife."

And with that, he had concluded his business with the men. He collected his group then walked off, ignoring the cries and pleas for their release. He laughed manically at their desperation.

"You're horrible. You know that?" Kaida announced to him.

"What are you talking about? I'm a hero, Kaida. I've defeated Nefarious Cage and I've directed their anger onto us instead of this island. It's a win-win situation."

"No. It's win-lose," Jaw corrected. "The people of the island win. But we lose in the long run. The World Government, the Marines, and Nefarious Cage will be hunting for us."

"Don't care. I plan on taking them all down in the future anyway." Raymond shrugged his shoulders.

"Reckless. You're incredibly reckless." Kaida shook her head.

"Who's the one that decided to fight alongside this reckless person?"

"Shut up." Jaw and Kaida said in unison.

"I get no respect." Raymond pouted.

"Listen…" Hephaestus stopped once they reached the remains of his burnt down shop. "You three have done so much for this island. I'm sorry that no one treated any of you better."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't really do any of this for the people. It was all for the sake of my revenge."

"I was only trying to keep him out of trouble. What a great job I did." Jaw sighed.

"I only fought them because they were trying to take Ryder from me. Speaking of which, I should go fetch him. Make sure to alert me when you two take off." Kaida waved goodbye to the group before heading off.

"Nice girl." Raymond commented.

"She's a girl?" Jaw looked to him.

"Well, regardless of why you did it. I still owe you a great deal of thanks. Before you all leave, I'd like to give you all some presents to show my gratitude." Hephaestus suggested.

"Thanks, but no thanks. We'd rather…"

"Sure thing! I love presents!" Raymond eagerly jumped in and interrupted his first mate.

"Well then, follow me." Hephaestus led the group to his house. It was there that he provided the two pirates a change of clothes and some food. The first one to get changed was Raymond. He had been wearing "borrowed" clothes for awhile and he was getting sick and tired of them. He soon came out wearing a purple sleeveless, high collared zip up jacket, a dark pair of pants, and dark boots. His arms and legs were donned with steel protective gear secured around him with brown straps.

Next was Jaw. Just like his Captain, he too had the slave mark on his chest covered with the cross out symbol. Afterwards, he changed his raggedy clothes, easily discarding them in the nearest fire place. He then soon came out wearing a dark blue long short-sleeved robe, which he wore on his right shoulder, exposing the left side of his shoulder and chest. The robe was fastened at the waist by a sash. He also has on a pair of dark pants and sandals.

"Well, what do you two think?" Hephaestus smiled at the sight of the two.

"Bad ass! That's what I think," Raymond quickly replied while inspecting the steel protective gear on his arms and legs. "Surely could've used some gear like this back in the pits. Then I wouldn't have so many scars."

"Quit complaining. A few scars never hurt anybody." Jaw said.

Raymond looked over to his first mate then spotted the tattoo on the Fishman's left shoulder. It featured three human skulls being crushed between sharp teeth. It looked interesting to him. But, the thing that caught his attention the most about it was that it was crossed out.

"What's with that tattoo being crossed out?"

"Mind your business." Was Jaw's immediate reply before concealing the tattoo with a white band.

"Jerk." Raymond smacked his lips then took a seat at the table. In front of him were plates of food. He took pleasure in stuffing his face while the other two looked on.

"So...what's your next plan on action?" Hephaestus looked over to Jaw.

"Don't know really. I'm just following his lead until he kicks the bucket," Jaw answered, wandering over to the table himself to get some food. "The main goal is to keep away from the World Nobles. Best way to do that for now is to head towards the Grand Line while they're headed here."

"Yeah! The Grand Line! That sounds like fun!" Raymond said after swallowing his food.

"The Grand Line? You two understand that place isn't somewhere ordinary people can just go, right," Hephaestus asked. "I know you two are far from ordinary, but do you really think that two people can enter the Grand Line safely? That place is extremely dangerous from what I hear."

"Don't worry about it, old man. It won't be just me and Jaw. Kaida's gonna come along with us. And by the time we reach the Grand Line, I expect to have more crew members to help us out."

"Wait, you're looking to recruit her?" Jaw looked to his Captain.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"We discussed this before, remember? If you're going to try and recruit potential members, you need to make sure that they're ready for the future dangers we're going to face. And believe me, thanks to the stunt that you've pulled, it'll come sooner than later."

"All the more reason to recruit her now. She's strong. She can help us."

"Have you even told her that you're a pirate?"

"Of course I...uh...hmmm...don't think that I did..."

"Did you also tell her how you plan on taking out the World Government, Marines, and World Nobles?" The Fishman continued to pester his Captain. It had to be done or else grave mistakes would be made in the future. Jaw was too late to prevent the disaster on this island, but he would be damned if he couldn't stop other ones in the future. He wanted to make sure that his Captain understood the consequences and repercussions of his actions.

"No, I didn't tell her that either. But, it's not like I was making it a secret. I've made my intentions loud and clear." Raymond stated.

"I understand that. But you need to make sure that she does. She may have helped you take out Nefarious Cage, but I don't think she has any desire to join a pirate crew."

Raymond lowered his food back down to the plate, taking a moment to process his first mate's words. It was true that Kaida helped him defeat Nefarious Cage. He appreciated her for that. Not just anyone would be willing to go that far for a complete stranger. It was because of that Raymond decided to request that she join the crew in the first place. She would be a fine addition to the crew. But a question lingered in his mind.

How far would she be willing to go for him?

They hadn't known each other for more than a day. It was true that the two of them had a decently good relationship after everything they had done. But, would she be willing to sacrifice everything for dreams of revenge? If he had asked that question to any ordinary person, no doubt they would refuse immediately. Hell, if someone had asked them that, chances are he would've refused as well.

The only reason he managed to score Jaw into his crew was because he won a bet. He couldn't use that same trick on other people, could he? No. He immediately dismissed the idea. He wanted people to willingly join his crew from now on. Sure, it would be difficult. But that's just what made things fun for him.

"Fine, I understand what you're saying. I'll find Kaida and properly explain things. Whether or not she chooses to join is up to her." Raymond smiled at Jaw before returning to his food.

"I'm having trouble understanding which one of you is the Captain," Hephaestus let out a sigh. "You guys are a crazy bunch. I've never heard of a pirate crew that would willingly anger three major organizations at once."

"Well get used to it. You're going to be seeing a lot about us in the newspapers. We're going to cause quite the storm everywhere we go." Raymond happily announced, waving his arms around for dramatic effect.

"If we survive that is. We won't be reaching the Grand Line without a navigator or a ship." Jaw reminded him.

"One thing at a time, Jaw. One thing at a time," He responded, quickly standing up from his chair after finishing another plate of food. "First thing's first, let's try and convince Kaida to join us."

"I'll come along just to make sure that you don't make things worse." Jaw reluctantly stood as well. Both of their gazes moved over to Hephaestus. "Thank you for all your help. It would be safe for you if you weren't seen with us any longer. We'll be out of your hair soon enough."

"It's not problem. I just wish that I could do something more for you all." Hephaestus stood up and showed the two pirates out the door.

"Don't worry about it, old man. You've done more than enough. Make sure that no one tries to release the prisoners though. If they get free before the World Nobles arrive, the plan will be a bust." Raymond warned him.

"Leave it to me. Try and be careful out there."

"As careful as a pirate can be." Raymond and Jaw waved off him before leaving the area, heading towards Kaida. The two eventually found her near the docks, playing with Ryder.

Upon spotting them, she scooped up the wolf pup in her arms then approached the two with a smile. "Are you two about to head out?"

"That's right," Jaw answered before he nudged Raymond. "He would like to have a few words with you though."

"What's up?"

"Kaida, after everything that we've been through today, I would like to offer you the chance of a lifetime. What do you say to joining my pirate crew?" Raymond extended his arm out with a bright smile.

Kaida simply stood there, momentarily speechless.

"Did you break her?" Jaw looked to his Captain before he proceeded to wave his hand in front of the girl's face.

"I don't think so." Raymond shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh...I'm sorry..." The blue-haired woman shook her head, snapping herself out of her trance like state. "It's just...I wasn't expecting you to be pirates. I figured that you two were criminals considering you showed no hesitance in attacking Nefarious Cage."

"You didn't show hesitance either." Jaw pointed out.

"True, but I was fighting to protect the people of this island and Ryder. You two on the other hand clearly had some deeper issues with them. Especially Raymond."

"What can I say? It's because of their organization that I was made into a slave in the first place. I wanted some payback and got some," Raymond sheepishly announced, showing no shame with his intentions. "But, I don't plan on stopping there. My vengeance needs to extend to the World Nobles, the World Government, and the Marines. I wish to burn those organizations down to the ground."

"Holy hell..." Kaida said softly.

"But, one man can only do so much alone. I need help. And if you're willing, I'd like you to join my crew," He continued to speak. "Word will get out that you helped us defeat Nefarious Cage. The World Nobles will use everything at their disposal to get you captured. It would benefit you to come with us. That way, you'll have some form of protection."

"This is...this is a little much...don't you think?" She nervously laughed at the two, trying to properly process everything that had been said to her. He was right in mentioning that she would be targeted. There was no telling who or what would be sent after her in the long run. Raymond and Jaw were both very strong. She knew that for a fact. They made a great team against Nefarious Cage.

However, how would they fair against the entire world? Raymond made his intention of destroying the world clear to her. The World Nobles, World Government, and Marines. Those organizations ran the world. Everyone in the world either feared and or respected their power. And yet, there he was, wishing to destroy them all for something they did to him. Kaida didn't know the full story behind his dream, but she knew that the man was serious. One wouldn't joke about challenging the entire world.

If she were to accept the proposal and join his crew, the entire world would be their enemy once they became more infamous. Powerful opponents from around the world would come after them with the intent to kill. That thought terrified her. But strangely enough, it excited her. She was a swordswoman after all. Fighting against tough opponents and winning was something that she strove for. Should she join the crew, she would certainly have that chance.

"We're just trying to make sure that you understand the situation that you're in. You're more than welcome to refuse and go on about your life. But know that it won't be easy unless you have some brave people backing you." Jaw warned her.

"I...don't have anyone like that." Kaida sadly replied, only to immediately hear a bark from Ryder. She looked down to the wolf cub then smiled. "Right, except for you, Ryder."

"So, what do you say? I'm sorry if it feels like we're rushing you. But, we don't have much time. We should leave this island as soon as possible." Raymond said.

"Sailing around, fighting against powerful opponents, rebelling against the entire world. I must be out of my mind..." Kaida brought the palm of her hand up to her forehead. "Very well, I'll join your crew. However, I'm going to give you some conditions later on. I'm risking my life for your need for vengeance. It's only fair that you do the same for me."

"No problem! No problem!" Raymond rushed over to Kaida, wrapped his arms around her, then swung her around. He laughed wholeheartedly while spinning around in a circle, ignoring the constant protests from both her and Ryder. Eventually, he calmed himself and released the two of them. "Welcome to the pirate crew, Kaida!"

"Glad to have you along." Jaw nodded his head.

"Can you at least pretend to sound happy about this, Jaw? We successfully recruited someone! This is a cause for celebration!"

"Yeah, we'll celebrate after we get off the island that the World Nobles are heading towards. Let's get moving already." Jaw turned his back to the group then walked towards the docks.

"Come along, Kaida. Like he said, we need to get moving." Raymond followed after the Fishman with Kaida following close behind.

"So, where's your ship?" Kaida asked, soon stopping at the end of the docks where she first laid eyes on Raftey II. Although it was blatantly clear as to whom the raft belonged to, she secretly hoped that it was some kind of prank.

Raymond enthusiastically spun in place, eventually dropping down to one knee, showcasing the wonderful raft with a bright smile. "Ta-Dah!" He happily sang aloud.

Kaida stood there, speechless once more. It was at that moment she regretted making such a crucial decision without first checking on the status of the people recruiting her. Ryker jumped out from her arms then wandered over to the raft. Meanwhile, a pair of webbed hands set themselves on her shoulders.

"If you're surprised by this one, you should have seen the first one." Jaw told her.

"You shut up, Jaw," Raymond angrily snapped at the Fishman. "As your Captain I forbid you from ever mentioning Raftey! You murderer!"

"That raft was stupid and you would've drowned immediately after setting sail on that thing. I did you a favor, Captain."

"That's it!" Raymond lunged forward and attacked the Fishman.

Kaida stood there again, watching the scene unfold in front of her. Her Captain and the first mate of the crew had begun brawling right in front of her. "What is even happening right now? What have I done?" She brought her hands up to her face. She then turned to look at Ryder to try and make some sense of everything. The wolf cub sniffed around the raft before finding the perfect spot to pee.

"Hey! Hey! Stop that! Stop that right now damn it!" Raymond quickly ran over and picked up the wolf cub, dangling him over the ocean. By that time, the deed had already been done. "Oh, now you don't have to go anymore?"

"That dog isn't coming along is he?" Jaw crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ryder stays. Where I go, he goes." Kaida proudly announced to her crew.

"I'm okay with him tagging along. However, the spot he "marked" as his territory. That's now your spot on Raftey II." Raymond set the cub down back on the raft.

"Is it too late for me to refuse joining the crew?" Kaida decided to take a shot in asking.

"Way too late." Jaw pushed the young girl onto the raft. Once everyone had settled in, the pirate crew of three sailed off away from the island, heading onward for the next adventure that awaited them in the West Blue.

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of the first chapter of the new year! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There are still only two spots open for the crew now! Come and get them while you still can! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Kaida Fae**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-Taken by Paperman0**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-?**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


	17. Storm Warning!

**Storm Warning!**

* * *

Three long and excruciating days had passed since Raymond Everett, Jaw, and Kaida Fae departed from the island. Their final goodbyes to the island had to be kept short. After all, they're pirates—wanted criminals—on the run from the marines and the World Nobles. Both of which would arrive on the island and capture them had they not left when they did. Besides the blacksmith, they had no personal attachment to the island. So, leaving was not such a big deal.

However, leaving without properly stocking on supplies was a big deal. Since the group was in such a hurry, they forgot to bring the most basic of necessities. Food and water. Thankfully, they had a Fishman to gather them some food from the ocean. But, nothing concrete could've been done about the water issue.

Occasionally, Raymond would spot storms off in the distance and attempt to steer Raftey II into it to gain the water. But, his attempts would be stopped by the combined efforts of Jaw and Kaida. It eventually reached up to the point where they had no other choice but to subdue and keep him tied to the mast of the raft.

"You guys are making a huge mistake! I'm trying to save our lives!" Raymond desperately stated his case to his insubordinate crew mates. But, his words fell on deaf ears. Neither Jaw or Kaida wished to listen to his excuses.

"Sailing us into a storm is the exact opposite of saving our lives," said Jaw as he took affirmative control of the raft. Off in the distance was the very storm that could've possibly killed them.

Meanwhile, Kaida and Ryder kept to themselves in a small little corner of the raft. She racked her brain trying to remember why she even bothered to join the ragtag group of pirates in the first place. Sure, she wanted the chance to fight against strong opponents. And, she also had her own dreams and goals that she wanted to achieve. But after taking the past three days to reconsider her options, she figured that it was too late to turn back.

As far as she was concerned, she was stuck with a suicidal captain and a tight knitted Fishman. What else could possibly go wrong for her? The only solace she found in her situation was that her pet wolf, Ryder, was always there to comfort her whenever she felt distressed. And boy did she feel distressed.

"We need drinking water, Jaw! Who knew that drinking salt water only made you thirstier!"

"Anyone. Anyone with a brain could've told you that. In fact, I told you that. But, you refused to listen and decided to drink directly out of the ocean anyway."

"Hopefully you haven't contacted any illnesses." Kaida voiced her input as she kept playing with Ryder.

"I'd prefer it. He'd die a lot quicker that way," stated Jaw.

"You are just obsessed with me dying, aren't you?" Raymond tried his best to hold back his tears. It was truly tragic. His most trusted First Mate, wishing for his own demise.

"Save your crocodile tears for someone who cares. Besides, after everything you've done for the past few days, I'm not the only one that wants you dead."

"That's for sure. Soon enough, the whole world will want my head on a platter. I don't mind if that happens, but, I'm not going to make it easy for them."

"So, what's our next course of action?" Kaida stepped back into the conversation. "Because at this rate, we're going to die of dehydration. This is not how I planned for things to go."

"You and me both." Jaw agreed.

"Only thing we can do is sail around until we either find a ship or an island. Without a compass or navigator, we're sailing blind." Raymond stated.

"I never should have agreed to do this. If I had any idea how ill-prepared the two of you were, I wouldn't have chosen to come along." Kaida lied back on the raft and stared up at the cloudy sky up above. "If only I could turn back time."

"You and me both." Both Raymond and Jaw responded in agreement.

"Oh well, it's too late to turn back now. We're all in this together now. For better or worse."

"Speaking of for better or worse…" A sudden, menacing expression bloomed across the face of the black-haired man. A dangerous thought had crossed his mind. His crew mates sensed it. "I wonder how or friends back at the island are doing right about now. Surely, the World Nobles must've found them."

Jaw and Kaida traded glances. They knew exactly who their Captain referred to. The three former members of Nefarious Cage—Johnathan Cage, Buffa, and Ryker. All of them had defeated the three men and left them bounded to the island to await their cruel fate. None of them felt any remorse or guilt for their actions. How could they? They were men that mercilessly hunted down and captured people. Only to sell them into slavery for profit.

To make matters worse, all their actions were considered legal since they were being sponsored by the World Nobles. Almost no one in the entire world was foolish enough to challenge their decisions. Unfortunately, Raymond was a man foolish enough to do so. And boy did he feel good doing so.

Raymond felt as giddy as a school girl at the thought of his friends having "justice" exacted onto all of them. It was quite poetic. They spent their lives turning people into slaves. Now that came around full circle. They would soon feel what Raymond felt all those years ago.

The familiar sensation of scalding, hot metal burning away at flesh. The screams of pain and anguish that reached the heavens—but the gods ignored. The torment of having every ounce of humanity stripped away.

Those men would never be the same. Raymond felt proud of that fact. It pained him that he wouldn't be there to witness their despair up close and personal, but it would soon pass. He refused to dwell his thoughts on them for too long. He had to focus his attention on the future. That was far more important.

Meanwhile, at the island, Marine Captain Gabriel Matthews disembarked from his ship. Following close behind were the elite members of the Valentine Family, Hayes, and Helena Valentine. And behind them were the three World Nobles, Charles and Charlotte Flameheart, and Damien Cornwall.

Nearby citizens that spotted them immediately followed protocol and bowed their heads to the high beings known as the World Nobles. No one dared to speak out unless spoken too—which would be highly unlikely considering their position when compared to the others.

"Something appears to be…off…" Charles commented as he gave the area a quick eye sweep. As ordered, members of Nefarious Cage should be at the docks to welcome them upon their arrival. But, that didn't turn out to be the case this time. A vein of anger and frustration immediately formed on his forehead. "Blasted Nefarious Cage. They were given strict instructions, and yet they can't even follow them. Pathetic worms."

Some of the civilians noticed that and trembled vigorously. To help remedy the situation, Charlotte quickly spoke out, "Father, perhaps they are preparing some kind of surprise further out in the square?"

"I do not like surprises, Charlotte. You of all people should know that." Charles instantly reprimanded her. "Whatever surprise it could be, it had best be worth it. If not, they can consider their lives forfeit."

"Try and be a bit more optimistic, Sir Flameheart," said Damien, "You have been looking forward to coming here for quite some time now. Certainly, your requested items should be prepared for pick up."

The only response that came from Charles was a low grunt. The past few days had not been kind to him. His prized devil fruit that he had spent months trying to find had been stolen by one of his own slaves. And then those slaves went on to escape from his clutches. He had hoped that the massacre of island would quell his anger—but it did not. The flaring flames in his heart did not even compare to the flames that burned the island to the ground.

The only comfort that he could see in the nearest future would be the fact that he would obtain more slaves, weapons, and the rare wolf. He had ordered for Nefarious Cage to acquire those items for him. If not, well, it was obvious how he would react.

The group soon arrived in the town square—where the only remaining Nefarious Cage members of the branch remained, tied up together. As requested of Raymond—Hephaestus ensured that no one freed them from their restraints. Despite their pleas for freedom, no one went near them. All their lives rested in the balance of Raymond's half-baked plan.

"Oh my, oh my…" Helena brought her hand up to her mouth then tilted her head in confusion.

"Wonder what happened here," said Hayes as he glanced around the area. All the civilians were still down on their knees, heads down.

"Perhaps our associates can tell us." Charlotte glanced over to the defeated men. All their faces grew pale the moment they arrived. Their heads were down and their bodies trembled in perfect harmony.

"Remove their gags." Charles coldly ordered.

"Yes, sir." The one that followed through with the order was Gabriel. He approached the three men then removed their gags.

"S-Saint Charles Flameheart!" Johnathan Cage desperately cried out the moment his gag was removed. He stared into the eyes of the World Nobles and immediately came to regret it. His body froze. There was nothing in the eyes of the World Noble. Or rather, it was an abyss. No life or emotion appeared to be there at that moment.

"You dare allow my name to leave your mouth?" Charles pressed his flintlock pistol against the man's head. A high-pitched shriek came from both Buffa and Ryker as the two of them closed their eyes and looked away just in case the trigger would be pulled. "Unless you wish for your brains to be splattered all over the payment, I suggest that you start talking. What happened here?"

"W-w-well...you see...sir...um..." Cage struggled to find the right words to begin with an explanation. If there were any right words to begin with in the first place. No matter what words he chose, he figured a bullet would go through his brain anyway. But nonetheless, he eventually found the words to continue speaking. "E-everything started off just fine. We had your weapons, slaves, and the black wolf ready for pick up, sir. But, you see...our operations were foiled by a swordswoman and a pair of two former slaves."

It was at that moment when the flames in Charles' heart raged even further. However, it didn't show on his face. And that fact frightened Cage. He had expected some kind of emotion. But, to reveal such crucial information and to receive nothing...well, he could only hold us tongue until something finally happened.

"Two...former...slaves..." Charles lowered the gun then slowly turned his back to the group. He didn't even need to ask. He knew exactly who they were referring to. To him, it could only be the work of Raymond Everett and Jaw. He had hoped that wasn't the case. But, that was only wishful thinking on his part.

"Y-Yes!" Buffa spoke up next, "a black-haired man and a Fishman! They did this to us! We had everything until they arrived and ruined everything three days ago!"

"They can't be too far off from this island! If we hurry, we can still catch them!" added Ryker.

"What should we do, Sir Flameheart?" Hayes looked to the silent man. He could only imagine what kind of wicked thoughts went through the mind of the World Noble. Nefarious Cage, an organization sponsored by the World Nobles, had been defeated by three mere people. Three people versus three hundred. It sounded simple who would come out on top. Although he'd never admit outwardly, he couldn't help but feel impressed by the strength shown by the three individuals. Not just anyone could overcome such terrifying odds.

"My prized devil fruit was stolen from me, my slaves escaped, and the organization that I wasted precious time and resources funding could not complete the simple task of acquiring my weapons, more slaves, or my black wolf." Charles listed off a few of his grievances. "This...this cannot stand."

"What do you intend to do, Father?" asked Charlotte.

"We will find a way to salvage this situation. We all gain everything we want in one fell swoop," Charles said with a joyful tone, "like they said, they could not have gone very far. We will chase after them."

The faces of Cage, Buffa, and Ryker brightened. That was their chance of redemption. If they could convince the World Nobles to free them and take them along, then they could possibly exact their revenge on the people that had humiliated them.

"T-Take us with you! Please!" Cage desperately pleaded. "I know that we failed you! But, please give us another chance to redeem ourselves! We were overconfident and we underestimated their strength! But I swear that won't happen again! This time, we'll be the ones to personally deliver them back to you!"

Charles slowly turned back to face the group. His emotionless eyes frightened them once more. "Do not misunderstand your situation. I have no intention of using your services ever again. Not from this branch at least."

"B-But..."

"Let me tell you this...your lives as free men are finished. You all will soon belong to me. The hoof of the soaring dragon will be branded onto you, marking you as someone that is less than a human. You will be worked to the bone until I no longer see you to be of any use to me."

Those words. Those were the same words Raymond told them before he departed from the island. Those very words caused them to have nightmares when concerning their fate. As it turned out, he was right. The former slave traders would become slaves themselves. It was poetic justice. They could beg and plead for mercy all they wanted. Their cries would fall on deaf ears. Their fates were sealed. Nothing could save them from their hell.

"Take these men away back to the ship. I no longer feel the need to stay here." Charles turned his back to the group. Marine officers gathered up the three men and brought them back to the ship as ordered.

"Sir Flameheart. If possible, there is someone here that I would like to meet. I will make it fast if you permit me." Hayes said.

"Go ahead. You have an hour." Charles gave him permission.

"I will tag along as well. You're not the only one that wants to see him again," said Helena.

Hayes offered no resistance. The two siblings walked around the familiar island. Rumors spread fast about their arrival. The civilians ensured to steer clear whenever they were around. Anyone that worked for the World Nobles earned fear from anyone that understood the repercussions of angering them. Eventually, they reached their destination, the burnt down weapon shop.

"What...happened here?" Hayes asked.

"It's not like Master Hephaestus to burn down his prized shop," Helena commented.

"You're right." The two siblings turned around to see Hephaestus approaching them. "The ones that did this were the men you took back to your ship earlier. Thanks for that by the way. I've been meaning to get rid of them for some time now."

"Master Hephaestus!" Helena rushed over to the old man and quickly embraced him. "It's been far too long! How have you been?"

"Not great. My shop was burned down."

"Oh, don't worry about that. A man with your kind of connections could easily get himself another shop." Hayes stated.

"Cold and cruel as always, Hayes. You could never understand the sentimental value of something that you built with your own two hands." Hephaestus stole quick glances at the blades on the waists of the siblings. "How have your swords been holding up? Surely, you didn't come all this way just so that they could be repaired."

"Of course not! Ever since you made him, I've kept good care of Clovis!" Helena immediately answered as she finally released the old man from her embrace.

"Martel is in perfect condition as well." Hayes placed his hand on the handle of his sword. "We came here to check on you. Make sure that you were still alive and all. It's been years since we last saw you."

"What? Almost twenty years? You brats are still the same as ever." stated Hephaestus.

"We're a lot stronger if that helps," Helena mentioned.

"Strength means nothing if you're not going to do something meaningful with it." Hephaestus took a seat on the pile of rubble that was once his shop. "Now, what do you want?"

"The people that defeated Nefarious Cage, who were they?" asked Hayes. He crossed his arms and kept his eyes solely on the old man, gauging his every reaction.

"I didn't know them for long. One had black hair, he was covered in scars. The other one was a Fishman. The last one was a woman with blue hair. She carried around a sword." The old man answered. He felt no need to withhold information from them. One way or another, they were going to find out what happened on the island.

"In case you didn't know, the black-haired man and the Fishman are runaway slaves. They caused quite the ruckus at another island not too far away from here."

"Oh really? What a surprise."

"You already knew?"

Hephaestus shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. They really didn't keep it much of a secret. They came here, fought against Nefarious Cage, then left. It was quite the spectacle, to be honest."

"Tell me, after Nefarious Cage had been defeated, how come no one stepped in to release them from their restraints?" Hayes continued with his interrogation. "I find it odd that they were tied up together like that for three days."

"You think I had something to do with that?"

"Like I mentioned before, you are a man with great talent and influence. One word from you and no one on this island would dare cross you. Unless of course, a World Noble were to appear."

"I see...so you're here to arrest me or something?"

"No. I wouldn't dream of it. I'm just trying to understand what happened here." Hayes shook his head. "I've at least concluded that you've formed some kind of relationship with the ones responsible for this mess."

"Really? Is that true, Master Hephaestus?" Helena looked to the old man in shock.

"Sharp as ever, Hayes. I could never get anything passed you." Hephaestus brought his hand up to the side of his head. He felt a headache coming along. "Yeah, I met the kid before he fought Nefarious Cage. Good kid. He's crazy as hell, but a good kid nonetheless. Hope he doesn't himself into too much trouble."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. He's already in a world of trouble. Adding to the fact that he did all this..." Hayes paused, not even wanting to finish his sentence in the first place. Personally, he had nothing against the man. It was a shame that he was a slave. But, there was nothing he could do about that.

"Yeah, the kid told me how he planned to destroy the World Nobles. He's already gathering himself up a crew. He's got a Fishman and a swordswoman." Hephaestus informed them.

"Not good, Hayes. We need to find and put a stop to him as soon as possible," stated Helena. "The brat himself isn't that strong. But, if he manages to gather more followers."

"It can only spell out disaster in the future." Hayes deduced. "Master Hephaestus, I understand that you have grievances against the World Nobles. But, I implore you to be reasonable. If you have any information regarding where they're heading, please tell us."

"Implore? Please?" Hephaestus sarcastically repeated those words. "You sound very concerned, Hayes. Is that kid really going to be that dangerous to your masters?"

Hayes averted his eyes away from the old man.

"Master Hephaestus." Helena softly said.

"Relax. I'll tell you everything I know." Hephaestus sighed. "All I know is that they're heading for the Grand Line. I don't know when they'll get there or if they'll recruit more members. But, that's where they're going."

"The Grand Line…" Hayes repeated.

"If they're heading there, then all we need to do is wait by the Red Line. We'll cut them off and take them out there." Helena happily plotted.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's head back to the ship," ordered Hayes. His sister offered no resistance. She turned her back then headed for the ship. Meanwhile, Hayes stayed behind for a big longer. "Master Hephaestus…"

"Don't even start, Hayes. I've had enough drama for one day." Hephaestus sighed. "Get back to your little ship and get moving. Don't you have some escaped slaves to capture?"

"Tell me, what do you think about Raymond?"

"Huh?"

"I want to know your thoughts on him."

"Why?"

"Curiosity. He's an escaped slave. A dangerous criminal. Despite those qualities of his, you seem to be very respectful when referring to him."

"Well, he never got my friends and family killed. In fact, out of the supposed keepers of justice in this world, he and his friends were the only ones that did anything about Nefarious Cage." Hephaestus said. His words were mixed with admiration and malice. "What kind of world are we living in when criminals are the ones saving the day instead of the marines?"

Hayes had nothing to retort. How could he? Nothing Hephaestus had said was incorrect. True, the world had its flaws. But, what could he do about them?

"That kid, Raymond, he's gonna go far. I doubt even you could stop him once he's made his mind up about something." Hephaestus continued to speak. "At first, I thought he was crazy when he told me about his dream. I thought that he would end up dead in no time. And yet, he managed to get me to believe in him and his friends by the end of the day. I can see it now, a new future."

"A new future?" Hayes questioned him.

"Yes." Hephaestus nodded. "A storm is coming, Hayes. A storm enormous enough to change the very world itself. I'd suggest finding your place in the world before that happens, unless you want to find yourself swept away in the end."

"Sounds like a threat if I've ever heard one."

"Just a warning." Hephaestus stood up. "I think we're about done here. Wouldn't you say? Pleasure talking with you again, Hayes. Give my regards to your family." He waved the man goodbye before he took off down the road.

"A storm huh?" Hayes wandered off back towards the ship, contemplating the words of advice his master had bestowed upon him. "Raymond Everett, a dangerous man indeed. If your goal is truly to destroy the people that I have sworn to protect, then I shall see to it that you are exterminated."

* * *

 **A/N: And this marks the end of the chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review, I would really appreciate it! There is only one spot left for the crew now! Just to let everyone know, whenever the spot is filled, it does not mean that I am no longer accepting OC's. I'll accept marines, other pirates, criminal organizations, whatever :D**

 **Also, I'm happy to announce that this story has reached over 100 reviews, which is amazing XD Thank you so much to all the readers and reviewers! It really means a lot to me! :D**

* * *

 **Berserker Pirates**

 **Captain-Raymond Everett**

 **First Mate-Jaw**

 **Second Mate-Kaida Fae**

 **Navigator-Taken by Troliver1994**

 **Doctor-Taken by Origm2012**

 **Cook-Taken by Paperman0**

 **Musician-Taken by MyDearWatson**

 **Swordswoman-Taken by Tomanyideas**

 **Entertainer-Taken by Stargaze Valintime**

 **Archaeologist-Taken by Strawhatsrule**

 **Shipwright-Taken by Outcast001**

 **Marksman-Taken by theDarkRyder**

 **Chronicler-Taken by Lightning God Traxid**

 **Blacksmith-Taken by KingKatsu**

 **Helmswoman-Taken by TheLonelyAnon**

 **Lookout-Taken by MorFaeSparLightning**

 **Quartermaster-TheCrimsonDragon141**

 **Spy-Taken by PokemonKing0924**

 **Assassin-Taken by SomethingAppropriate**

 **Underworld Broker-Taken by Dreadburner94**

 **Demolition Expert-Taken by Shirou Fujimura**

 **Communications Officer-?**

* * *

 **Please Review and Enjoy!**


End file.
